Illegal organ trade.

FOLLOWING the petition filed by a Kohat resident against an alleged illegal kidney transplantation case last month, a Peshwar High Court bench has asked KP's health department and FIA to look into the prevalence of the illegal trade in the province. Mohammadullah Khan complained that a group, including doctors, performed a kidney transplant on his uncle, in return for Rs2.55m. He died within two days. The case serves to spotlight once again the illegal trade of human organs. One of the most disturbing consequences of globalisation, the demand and supply of human organs connects the wealthiest to the poorest through a vicious cycle of scarcity and exploitation. Its continued existence is dependent on a flourishing black market, exacerbated by economic inequalities and the desperation to survive. Sensing the urgency of the issue, made worse by the lack of data, the World Health Assembly urged member nations to 'take measures to protect the poorest and vulnerable groups from 'transplant tourism' and the sale of tissues and organs' in 2004. Despite criminalising the trade in organs in 2010, cases of...