Human trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting: strengthening the response

On Thursday 18 January, City, University of London hosted a conference to strengthen the identification, investigation and prosecution of human trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting by UK policing and key partners.

The conference was organised by Dr Aldo Zammit Borda, Reader in Law at The City Law school, and Dr Paul Lashmar, Reader in Journalism, School of Communication & Creativity in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

It was convened in response to the first trial for trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting in English legal history; an outcome of Operation Manoa, the ongoing MPS investigationas reported in the Guardian in May 2023.

The case highlighted the need for healthcare, regulatory bodies, law enforcement and researchers to work together to combat this type of modern slavery.

The aim of the conference was to contribute to addressing current knowledge gaps in the field and brought together medical professionals, law enforcement from around the world, and academics working in this area.

Learning outcomes for the conference included:

• classifying types of exploitation (other than organ trafficking) in the context of health care
• describing the signs, indicators and control methods of exploitation in a healthcare context
• contrasting other countries’ approaches to regulation and law enforcement in relation to organ trafficking
• identifying current barriers to recognising and responding to suspected organ trafficking.

The conference was chaired by Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who leads the Central Specialist Crime Command (Complex Investigations Team; Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation Team; Vulnerability Assessment and Partnership; Organised Immigration Crime) at the MPS.

Assistant Chief Constable Jim Pierce and Professor Richard Ashcroft, Executive Dean, The City Law School, provided an introduction to the conference, the latter of whom provided context to his interest in the area as a professor of bioethics.

Dr Colin Sullivan , CEO Human Tissue Authority (HTA), then spoke about the organisations work in the context of the conference theme.  The HTA is responsible for decisions on whether living organ donations in the UK can proceed.

Detective Inspector Esther Richardson and Detective Inspector Andy Owen of the MPS talked about the ongoing MANOA investigation.

Hugh Davies OBE KC , Three Raymond Building Barristers, provided reflections on trials related to human organ trafficking, including how they went in practice and their outcomes.

Cristina Huddleston , Justice & Care, spoke about her organisation’s work, including how it works directly with law enforcement and takes a victim centred approach.

Aimée Comrie, Project Coodinator for GLO.ACT Asia and the Middle East, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, spoke about new approaches to investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons for organ removal.

Dr Adnan Sharif , Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham talked about the concept of forced organ harvesting, and how this may present to clinicians.

Dr Sean Columb , Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Liverpool, spoke about his experiences, and lessons he learned, when researching his book, ‘Trading Life: Organ Trafficking, Illicit Networks, and Exploitation’.

Reflecting on the conference, co-organiser Dr Aldo Zammit Borda said:

This Conference brought to the fore the strong collaboration between the Central Specialist Crime Unit of the Metropolitan Police Service and City researchers to progress knowledge on the challenges of, and responses to, the hidden crime of human trafficking for the purposes of organ harvesting.

We were privileged to work with the Met Police on this conference, which turned out to be tremendously useful day. Organ trafficking is probably extensive across the globe but remains under-researched. I was hugely impressed by the guest speakers’ contributions and that an embryonic international network that is emerging from the conference’s attendees to tackle this burgeoning illegal trade. City is keen to help with establishing the extent and modus operandi for organ trafficking.