No kidnapping gangs stealing human organs in Egypt

CAIRO - 4 August 2017: Recently, amid rumors circulating that there are groups of people specialized in kidnapping children and stealing their human organs in Egypt, the Public Security sector in the Ministry of Interior was keen to uncover the truth and respond to the rumors.

According to the security sector, they have not received any reports about the theft of human organs and the information systems did not monitor any situation in this regard, noting that the reports of abduction of people - especially children - to steal their human organs do not exist in Egypt at all. Not one body missing a human organ was ever found.

Moreover, the public security sector pointed out that there is a difference between people who purposefully sell their human organs and the incidents of kidnapping and theft of human organs. The latter does not exist in Egypt, while there are people who sell their own organs for money and circumvent the law by doing such acts under the name of "organ donation."

The public security sector further explained that there are kidnapping incidents in Egypt, the reasons behind which are not organ theft, as some say, but rather blackmailing, asking for ransom, personal disputes, rape and defamation.

In 2010, Egypt was described as “a hub” for organ trafficking, ranking among the top five countries for illegal organ trade, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Organ purchasing was banned by law in Egypt in 2010; however, poverty drives some people to sell some of their organs, a kidney or a liver, to afford food and living expenses.