An international organ trafficking ring that allegedly sold kidneys to patients in Israel and Eastern Europe was broken up by Costa Rica police and Interpol.
The ring is accused of having worked with Israeli doctors who have not yet been named, according to Haaretz, but Israel’s Health Ministry denied any knowledge of the organ trafficking ring.
The newspaper reported that the Costa Rican Attorney General’s Office said last week that Israeli doctors had performed kidney-removal operations on some Costa Ricans who sold their organs to Israeli patients who paid up to $20,000 for a black market kidney.
The organs allegedly were removed both in Israel and Costa Rica, but Israeli hospitals strictly control organ transplants.
Israel’s New Organ Transplant Law passed in 2008 stopped funding for most organ transplants for Israelis abroad if the origin of the organ could be at all suspect.