Police believe that in an effort to earn badly needed funds; young women were taken advantage of as they were persuaded to sell organs for cash. Police report arresting suspects in what appears to be a Negev area organ trafficking ring. A gag order has been placed on details of the case.

Police however revealed that two women, ages 18 and 20, are believed to have sold a kidney, each receiving tens of thousands of shekels. The operation is believed to have taken place in Turkey. The recipients of the organs paid hundreds of thousands of shekels each.

One woman was taken into custody upon her return from Turkey three days after leaving Israel, telling police she backed out but told authorities one of her friends did go through with the surgery. When that woman returned to Israel, she told police she donated a kidney to a woman in her 50s, a resident of central Israel. She insisted she did not receive payment for the organ donation. The recipient was questioned too.

An Israeli physician from the center of the country was questioned in the case and is being viewed as a prime suspect.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)