"Black-market transplant specialists" in Bukovyna set up a scheme to sell anatomical materials from the deceased; suspects detained — Prosecutor General

Law enforcement officers uncovered a scheme involving the illegal trade in the organs and tissues of deceased people in Bukovyna. The criminal activity was organized by officials of the Chernivtsi Regional Pathology Bureau. As Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko reported, four employees of the pathology bureau were notified of suspicion, reports UNN.

Details

According to the Prosecutor General, each participant in the "scheme" had a specific role — from interacting with the relatives of the deceased and preparing fictitious documents to the direct removal of anatomical materials and their subsequent transportation to customers. 

Skin, bones, tendons, corneas and other tissues were removed from the bodies of the deceased. They were sold to companies that manufacture bioimplants for surgery and dentistry. The bureau did not have a license to practice transplant medicine, so trade with recipient companies was concealed by fictitious agreements on "scientific and medical cooperation," while the transfer of tissues was documented as the "supply of raw materials for the manufacture of bioimplants." With some clients, they worked without contractual relations 

According to the Prosecutor General, relatives of the deceased were manip­ulatively persuaded to consent to such procedures by being offered free embalming or body storage, as well as discounts on other services. At the same time, people were unaware of the actual extent of the removals and the subsequent sale of the tissues.

Cases were also documented in which relatives of the deceased refused to give consent, but anatomical materials were removed against their will. In another episode, consent was obtained from an employee of a geriatric nursing home who cared for the deceased person, although the burial was handled by relatives, who were not asked anything.

The collected materials were delivered to recipients by rail in containers with refrigerant. In particular, the transfer of ten boxes of biomaterials was documented, as well as the shipment of corneas by the Chernivtsi–Odesa train. Official payment for such "services" was transferred to the bureau's account under acceptance-and-transfer certificates for services provided. At the same time, every month the scheme's participants received "shadow cash" through currency exchange offices, which they divided among themselves depending on their roles and the number of removals 

Currently, four employees of the Chernivtsi Regional Pathology Bureau have been detained. They were notified of suspicion of illegally trading in human anatomical materials, committed by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy (Part 5 of Article 143 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Searches were conducted at the bureau's premises, as well as at the suspects' residences and in their vehicles.

A human body is not a commodity, and a family's grief is not an opportunity to make money. Everyone who turned medical activity into a "black market" will receive an appropriate legal assessment. The investigation is ongoing. We will continue working