This Kerala woman lost her kidney, job to organ donation scam

Kochi: A 40-year-old woman, residing with her family, has come forward to reveal how an agent duped and persuaded her to donate her kidney in a desperate bid to save her home from revenue recovery.

"To save our house from revenue recovery, I donated my kidney trusting an agent. And finally, the debt of Rs 2.5 lakh escalated to Rs 8.5 lakh. I also lost my job..." says the woman who lives in Ernakulam with her family because she cannot live in her native place due to the heavy debt.

The woman, who was an employee at a hospital, donated her kidney at the behest of an agent she regularly met there. Though she was promised Rs 8.5 lakh for the organ donation, she received only Rs 3.5 lakh after the surgery in June 2020. When she demanded the remaining amount, the agent asked her to bring more donors to clear the dues.
Tragically, this cycle of exploitation continued, with the agent cheating her and several other women. In addition to financial exploitation, she endured physical and mental abuse at the hands of the agent.

When she mustered the courage to file a complaint with the Panangad police in December, the agent retaliated by lodging a false complaint against her, resulting in the loss of her job. Furthermore, he maliciously accused her of swindling him of Rs 8 lakh. Though the Panangad police registered a case after the intervention of the Kochi City Police Commissioner, no further action was taken. Left with no recourse, she now runs a tea shop with her husband to sustain their family.