Hyderabad: Kidney racketeers lurk in the cyber world looking for prey. A huge number of websites, Facebook pages and open groups that connect donors are the main channel for kidney rackets.
The names of these pages sound like charity organisations or dialysis clinics, and the descriptions suggest that it is a legal way to donate organs.

The racketeers make it appear it is a charity activity by using words like ‘in the name of God or humanity’ and by asking people to ‘save lives’. But, once the interested donor is added in the Fb group or sign up in the website, the entire deal is clinched through personal chats and phone calls. There are several Facebook pages that seek donors from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

For instance, an Fb account called ‘Kidney Transplant Helper’, constantly updates the status seeking kidney donors from TS and AP. The Facebook pages are also filled with comments and posts from donors who are desperate for money. One comment in an Fb page says. “Sir, I am 22 year old healthy male. I want to sell my kidney. Ready to travel to any part of world. I need money to pay back my debts. Please contact ASAP, My phone number is….,”

After contacting the donors, agents take them to countries like Nepal, Myanmar, Iran, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, where the transplant surgery takes place.

Meanwhile, senior police officers say that for any kidney transplantation, only closest kin like wife, son, husband, daughter, mother, father, brother are permitted. “If somebody other than relatives wants to donate the organ to a patient, they have to register with Non Governmental Organisations and take permission of Author-isation Committee appo-inted by the government before transplant surgery,” an official said.