The victims of this barbarous trade are mainly refugees from South East African countries attempting to improve their livelihood in Egypt, Israel, or other countries of the Levant. And the traffickers are allegedly the Bedouin tribes inhabiting the stretch of desert. The Egyptian state has estimated that 250,000 African refugees now reside in their country (Millman, and Bradley). The majority of those who end up crossing the Sinai desert are from Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The UNHCR web portal revealed that the number of refugees crossing the Sinai has increased from 5,000 in 2009 to 14,000 in 2010.

As is the case in a number of developing countries, female refugees that are captured by trafficking networks are usually forced into prostitution. However in the case of organ trafficking, no one is spared. Traffickers take advantage of the tight economic conditions of refugees and their unofficial status to extract some of their organs, mainly the kidney, and sell them to recipients in need for thousands of dollars. The uncovering of a trafficking network in Israel in 2010 revealed that kidneys can be bought for around $140,000.

The Coalition for Organ Failure Solutions recently published a report entitled “Sudanese Victims of Organ Trafficking in Egypt” in which they conducted in-depth interviews with 57 Sudanese survivors. While the report only had access to those who remained alive; it estimated the number of victims of organ trafficking at a few thousands. Through the interviews, it was able to find that refugees were aided into the country by the help of traffickers who were themselves in direct collaboration with the brokers and organ sellers. Donor recipients include different regional nationalities, such as Sudan, Jordan, Libya, a number of Gulf countries, and Israel, the country with the largest per capita demand of kidneys in the world (Weir 15). This implies that the extent of this phenomenon has spread across several countries that should not be spared the responsibility.

Of the Bedouin tribes involved, no one has stepped up to the responsibility. Tribal chiefs have acknowledged that this is happening, but refuse to hold any entire tribe accountable, and instead blame it on certain deviant members. The CNN Freedom Project was able to get in touch with some tribal members who provided contact with a former smuggler. He revealed that doctors from Cairo are involved in the process, and arrive in Sinai with fridges for storage and transportation. Organs are bought for amounts such as 20,000 dollars (Pleitgen, and Fadel Fahmy).

Egyptian legislation does provide regulation for the legal transplant of organs. It prohibits the practices of compensating for attained organs, and removing organs from patients who are not brain-dead. It also allows foreigners to engage in organ transplantation under Egyptian law, but only with people of their own nationality (Millman, and Bradley). This not only points to the unlawfulness of this newly expanding practice, but also to the ineffectiveness of law enforcement. The authorities, though well aware of the rise of this practice, have not yet pinpointed anyone in charge.

The recent developments of this problem account for the lack of available information. But it can be said that the future of this matter will to a large extent be a function of the political developments within the country. In the meantime, a tighter approach to law enforcement and a more prevalent presence of police forces in Sinai could significantly alleviate the problem. Other Arab nations should also be concerned since refugees from countries such as Jordan, Syria and Iraq are also being dragged into this, making it prone to uncontrollable expansion. 

References:

Millman , Joel, and Matt Bradley. “Organ-Trafficking is Said to Rise in Egypt.” Wall Street Journal. 12 Dec 2011: n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.

Pleitgen, Fred, and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy. “Refugees Face Organ Theft in the Sinai.” CNN Freedom Project. 03 Nov 2011: n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.

“Police smash Israeli organ-trafficking ring.” BBC News. 7 Apr 2010: n. page. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8608053.stm>.

Smith, Micheal, Daryna Krasnolutska, and David Glovin. “Organ Gangs Force Poor to Sell Kidneys for Seperate Israelis.” Bloomberg Markets Magazine. 2 Nov 2011: n. page. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.

“Sudanese Victims of Organ-Trafficking in Egypt.” Coalition of Organ Failure Solutions. Coalition of Organ Failure Solutions, Dec 2011. Web. 24 February

United States Department of State, 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report - Israel, 27 June 2011, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4e12ee7137.html [accessed 24 February 2012]

Weir, Alison. “Israeli Organ Trafficking and Theft: From Moldova to Palestine.” Washington Report of Middle East Affairs . Nov 2009: 15-17. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.