Saudi kidney patients have been warned against soliciting the services of illegal kidney traders in the black market in the Philippines, either through dealers or unauthorized hospitals. The warning comes after the Manila government banned kidney transplants for foreigners last month as part of a government crackdown on a growing, illicit trade in human organs bought from the poor, an official said. Turning a blind eye to the ban, Saudis with kidney failure are still clinging to hope for kidney transplant in Manila, said Najeeb A.R. Al-Zamil, head of Saudi volunteer group supporting Saudi kidney patients who still want kidney transplant in Manila. Al-Zamil himself underwent a successful kidney transplant in the Philippines several years ago. “Seeking the services of illegal kidney traders, mostly unauthorized small hospitals teaming up with unscrupulous doctors and kidney dealers, could be fatal,» he said. «Most often these hospitals do not have proper facilities to care for patients with kidney failure,» he added. They may not be able to get the right donors, Al-Zamil lamented. Leading medical institutions in the Philippines that conduct kidney transplant such as the Philippine Kidney Center, St. Lukes Hospital, and Manila Doctors Hospitals, have joined hands to support the ban imposed by the Department of Health, he said. Kidney patients from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, Japan and Western countries are being duped by the black market kidney traders into false promises of better medical facilities, experienced doctors, and discounts, he said. “Highly experienced medical teams are only found in a few select hospitals with established reputation to maintain the level of excellence in kidney transplant in the Philippines,” he explained. Authorized hospitals with certified and experienced medical professionals charge from $50,000 to $60,000 per transplant, as opposed to $20,000 to $30,000 charged by unauthorized hospitals. A kidney transplant package is usually inclusive of operation fee, hospitalization charges, and of course the price of the kidney which goes directly to the donor. Although the sale of human organs has always been illegal in the Philippines, kidney transplants have become a lucrative underground business, with hospitals classifying the kidneys as donations to evade the law. Saudi kidney patients who are engaging the services of unauthorized hospitals for kidney transplant are at a few risks, including transplant rejection and complications due to lack of sterile environment, according to Al-Zamil. The latest count of Saudi kidney patients seeking transplant in Manila before the ban was 120, he said. Some may have already fallen victims of the middlemen in the transaction, he said. __
