Costa Rica News – A year ago, a few Costa Ricans traveled to sell their kidneys in Israel, where they were promised $20,000 and lifelong healthcare, for all reasons not related to the operation. The negotiations took place in Costa Rica’s Calderon Guardia Hospital.
The couple’s testimony was made public recently. They said, “An Israeli company bought Costa Rican bodies recruited by a doctor.” Their official statement was made on March 18, 2013, when they were detained in Israel for not being able to explain their reason for travel.
The case is being used to dismantle the network of international organ trafficking run by Doctor Francisco Jose Mora Palma, the nephrologist at Calderon Guardia. The pair says that it was he who paid for their trip to Israel, but they were sent without money or a contact and without a way to survive on their own.
There was a third person sent for the same reason, and he died of health complications during his return trip. Mora spent six months in detention. Three other doctors were investigated but not arrested.
