Bulgaria busts black market for kidneys

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Jan 7, 2006

SOFIA (AFP) — A posh Bulgarian hospital was used as a black market for kidney transplants for foreigners, with recipients purportedly paying 15,000 dollars (12,400 euros) for the operation.

The Sega daily quoted health ministry officials and directors at the Saint Ekaterina hospital in Sofia as saying some 20 "illegal" kidney transplants had been conducted there in the past two years.

The recipients were usually rich Israelis who bought kidneys from poor Russians, Chechens, Georgians, and Moldovans, who had Israeli passports and claimed to be relatives, the Standard newspaper cited Health Minister Radoslav Gaydarski as saying Saturday.

The recipients reportedly paid some 15,000 dollars (12,400 euros) to the Bulgarian clinic for performing the operation. It is not known how ... // 50% Remaining