FIA Identifies Illegal Kidney Transplant Networks Operating Across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Federal Investigation Agency has uncovered five organized networks involved in illegal kidney transplants across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after completing a year-long investigation that resulted in multiple arrests and operational shutdowns. According to officials, these networks coordinated their activities through a chain of contacts, facilitators, and agents who helped run the transplant operations discreetly.

Over the past year, authorities arrested eighteen individuals linked to the illegal trade, and five transplant centers operating in Peshawar, Nowshera, and Mardan were sealed. These centers were based in private homes to avoid detection, with the agency estimating the operational setup cost at nearly PKR 3 million per location. Investigators revealed that agents targeted financially vulnerable people, many of whom came from different parts of Punjab, including Lahore, particularly from impoverished brick-kiln communities with limited economic prospects.

Agents were responsible for pairing donors with patients, most of whom were residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Medical samples from donors and patients were usually collected in Peshawar, after which transplant teams transported the patients to Rawalpindi for the actual procedure. The price of an illegal kidney transplant ranged between PKR 4 million and 5 million, with donors typically receiving around PKR 300,000. The remaining amount was distributed among surgeons, agents, and other facilitators managing the operation.

Officials confirmed that many individuals associated with these networks remain based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The illegal operations relied on private meetings, restricted access points, and coordinated communication among members responsible for logistics, donor movement, and matching. So far this year, eight FIRs have been registered, and the medical licenses of surgeons involved in unlawful transplants have been cancelled. Under current Pakistani laws, those convicted of participating in the illegal organ trade face prison sentences of up to ten years.