Kavre, June 8

Kavre district, known as the ‘bank of kidney’, is leading all districts of Nepal in the kidney selling racket, a report showed.

The report made public by People’s Rights Protection Forum showed that of the ten districts that sell kidney in Kavre ranks first.

The forum had been collecting data on people who have sold their kidney and inspecting their situation with support from USAID and Asia Foundation.

The report states that as many as 300 people from ten VDCs in the district had sold their kidney. Of them, the number of females selling the vital organ is three times more than males.

The report states that kidney selling started in Hokse and Jyamdi VDCs of at Kavre 22 years ago. After seven members of a Thakuri family at Hokse VDC-1 sold their kidney, they left the village five years ago.

According to the report, kidney selling had taken place from the VDCs of Hokse, Sathighar Bhagawati, Anekot, Devbhumi Baluwa, Kavre Nitya Chandeswori, Panchkhal, Fulbari, Jyamdi Jaisithok and Dolalghat.

The report states that kidney selling has been taking place from Dhading, Nuwakot, Makawanpur and seven Tarai districts.

Satish Sharma, director of People’s Rights Protection Forum Nepal said that kidney was sold in ten districts of Nepal. “Kavre leads in the kidney smuggling racket,” Sharma said.

He, however, said that kidney selling had come to a halt due to awareness in Kavre and was declining in other districts. “Kidneys were sold due to poverty,” Sharma said.

Meanwhile, kidney selling has stopped in Kavre.

Last year, a 35-year-old woman from Methinkot VDC had sold one of her kidneys for Rs 3 lakh to clear a loan her husband had taken to go abroad. Kidney has not been sold since then from Kavre.

Kidney smugglers used to make fake documents projecting the women as their wives after striking a deal on the amount.

Then, the woman would be taken to India on the pretext of a visit. Knowledgeable people said that the smugglers lured people trapped in poverty and debt due to the huge commission from the deal.

Human Trafficking and Transfer Act-2006 has a provision of ten years’ jail sentence and Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh fine for the guilty.

Half of the fine amount has to be given to the victim as compensation. Some kidney smugglers of Hokse have shifted to rudrakshya farming.