The Syndicate in South Africa

Abstract

This chapter focuses on how syndicates work. Between 2001 and 2003, over 200 persons underwent kidney transplantation with traded organs at three hospitals owned by the prestigious medical company Netcare in South Africa. Netcare was one of the main players in an international organ syndicate. In 2003, a whistleblower told police that the company’s board was deeply involved in illegal kidney transplants. The police officer captain Louis Helberg, who is also one of my main contact persons in South Africa, became the chief investigator. The organ trade was organized in a similar way as that between Israel and the Philippines. Kidney patients were flown to South Africa where Israeli-Arabic, Romanian, and Brazilian organ sellers waited.