title: The invisible issue of organ laundering.
abstract: Global institutions, although suggesting measures to deter organ trafficking, reiterate the lack of official statistics about this illegal trade. In this article, we explore the reasons why organ trafficking remains unreported. We argue that the complex factors that perpetuate invisibility facilitate trafficked organs being "laundered" in the health care systems of the purchaser's country, hindering accurate estimation of the problem. The factors are as follows: (a) issues of globalization, jurisdiction, and law enforcement; (b) the power of health care professionals; (c) the reimbursement of transplantation costs abroad by insurers; (d) ambivalence of the victim status of the sellers; and (e) the buyers as vulnerable offenders.
authors.affiliation: 1 Centre for Health, Technologies & Social Practice, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 2 Centre for Health Services Research, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 3 Academic Unit Adult, Child and Mental Health Nursing, School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom. 4 Address correspondence to: Ana Manzano, Ph.D., Centre for Health, Technologies and Social Practice, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manzano
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monaghan
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Potrata
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clayton
mesh_terms: D003132:Commerce; D003415:Crime; D003906:Developing Countries; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D035846:Law Enforcement; D057193:Medical Tourism / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations