Foreign organ transplant 'packages' lure sick

Foreign organ transplant 'packages' lure sick

By Clair Weaver and Miawling Lam
February 18, 2007 12:00am

AUSTRALIANS seeking lifesaving organ transplants are being lured overseas by risky all-inclusive packages that provide donors.

Fed up with waiting years for a donor organ as their health deteriorates, a growing number are resorting to buying organs on the black market.

To meet demand, a new breed of international companies are emerging with slick "organ transplant packages", which cover transport, surgery including a new organ, hospital fees and meals.

The Sunday Telegraph discovered centres offering kidneys and livers in countries such as China, India and Pakistan.

A Singapore-based company, which serves Australian patients, charges $57,400 to $76,500 for a kidney package, while liver deals cost $102,000 to $127,500.

Staff said after collecting patients from the airport, "everything is taken care of".

The organ is described as "free of charge" as it is illegal to trade in organs, although donors are usually paid a small percentage of the package price.

Before now, patients were more likely to respond to individual advertisements from would-be donors or travel overseas to seek an organ.

A NSW man, who did not want his name published, remortgaged his house to pay for a $65,000 kidney transplant package in the Philippines. The 31-year-old Filipino donor received $15,200 of the fee.

"Every time I meet someone in that predicament, I always try to encourage them," he said. "Yes, it might sound a lot but, if I had a million dollars, I would gladly exchange it for what my life is now, than when I was on dialysis.

"It's not a life at all."

The man, who was told to expect an eight-year wait for a donor in Australia, met his donor before the transplant and maintains contact with him, sending him $100 a month out of goodwill.

Despite Australia's shortage of donors, experts warn against travelling overseas for a transplant because of a risk of dying, infection, a mismatched organ and other serious complications.