Facebook Scams Target Desperate Kidney Sellers in India

In February 2020, Surya, a mother of two from India, faced financial hardship and decided to sell one of her kidneys. Aware of the illegality of kidney sales in India, she still sought out potential buyers online. On a Facebook page, she expressed her intent to sell her kidney, which attracted a scammer posing as Dr. Sandy from the Gitroh Medical Center in Ghaziabad. He offered her 10 million rupees ($122,000) for her kidney and asked for 8,000 rupees ($97.6) for a donor card.

Before paying, Surya contacted the MOHAN Foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network), which informed her that she had almost fallen victim to a scam, as donor cards are issued free of cost. MOHAN Foundation, established in 1997 by Dr. Sunil Shroff, promotes organ donations and found its name being misused by fake middlemen. The foundation frequently receives similar calls and has begun documenting them to monitor the situation.

The prevalence of kidney disease in India is alarming, with nearly one million people diagnosed annually and 200,000 reaching end-stage kidney failure. Despite regulations and the promotion of cadaver organ donation through programs like the Cadaver Transplant Program (CTP) and the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN), the black market and scams persist.

Scammers exploit desperate individuals on social media platforms like Facebook. Before widespread internet access, illegal kidney transactions were conducted through word-of-mouth. Despite efforts to regulate organ transplants, scammers offering fake donor cards thrive online, exploiting the ease of access to the internet, which nearly half of India’s 1.4 billion population now enjoys.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the desperation increased, leading to a surge in Facebook pages and groups where fake middlemen offered to buy organs. These scammers often impersonate doctors and well-known hospitals, asking for initial payments for donor cards or registration fees. While actual sales of kidneys are unclear, many have lost money in these scams.

Despite Facebook’s rules against human exploitation, including organ trafficking and scams, several blatant groups and pages continue to operate on the platform. Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook, acknowledges the challenge of completely eliminating fraud from its platforms.

The situation highlights the desperate measures some individuals take in financial crises and the exploitation they face from scammers preying on their vulnerability. The MOHAN Foundation continues to fight against these scams, trying to raise awareness and save potential victims from falling prey to such fraudulent schemes.

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