In his mid 30s Wendy Sipahutar had many of the things men of his age dream of: a good job, a bright career and a lovely family.

However, after what he hoped would be a routine visit to the doctor, Wendy found out he was on the verge of losing everything.

Sitting in his cozy office in the Sudirman business district, Central Jakarta, Wendy recalled the day, five years ago, when he began thinking there may be something wrong with his health.

Working for an international information technology company, Wendy said he was used to long hours but had never suffered any serious physical problems during his career.

“Then one day it was hard for me to breathe. Several days later, I found I was getting tired easily even when I was only doing small things, like walking from my desk to the corner of the office,” he said.

“I felt like I was carrying two large bucketfuls of water in my hands all the time.”

Weeks later, the condition remained unchanged. Following the advice of friends at his office, for the first time in his life Wendy consulted an internist, hoping to find a solution to his condition.

“It only took seconds for the doctor to examine my palm and diagnose that I had serious kidney disease,” he said, adding that he later learned that a whitish palm was in fact a symptom of a lack of hemoglobin in the bloodstream.

A day later, the doctor confirmed Wendy’s initial diagnosis after getting the results of his medical check-up. 

The doctor said Wendy had suffered a kidney failure, which had apparently entered the terminal stage, meaning his kidney was performing at less than 15 percent of its normal capacity.

“I was totally shocked,” Wendy said. “I visited a few more doctors to get other opinions, but all of them said the same thing.”

His options were clear: Going for regular hemodialysis (a method of removing waste from the blood) or getting a kidney transplant.

After struggling with twice-weekly hemodialysis for six months at two different hospitals, Wendy finally decided to undergo a kidney transplant operation in China.

Since he could not afford the US$30,000 fee, even after draining his life savings, Wendy openly asked for donations from members of his church.

Friends at work also collected money to support him.

In July 2006, Wendy flew to Guangzhou, China, and received treatment at a local hospital until he found a suitable donor.

“Unfortunately, it was not easy to find a kidney donor for a patient with type-O blood like myself,” he said, adding that this took three months.

The transplant operation went without a hitch.

Wendy said he was feeling much better now. Aside from returning to work, he is now able to run a food catering business together with his wife.

“It’s like God has given me a second chance to live,” said Wendy, grinning.

The kidneys of patients with kidney failure do not filter toxins and waste products from the blood properly. Those who are diagnosed with such illnesses must undergo life-long hemodialysis or a kidney transplant operation to survive.

It is estimated that there are now more than 80,000 people in Indonesia with kidney disease, who desperately need transplants.

Not all of them are as lucky as Wendy, who had the financial ability to pay for the costly operation.
Many people in this condition end up living on medicines and painful hemodialysis for the rest of their lives.

Aside from the high cost of kidney transplant surgery, the lack of available donors also make it hard for many patients to get transplants immediately, says David Manuputty, a senior kidney transplant surgeon at PGI Cikini Hospital in Central Jakarta.

“A donor must first undergo a series of thorough medical examinations before donating a kidney, including blood-matching and tissue-matching tests,” said David, who has more than 30 years experience in kidney transplant surgery.

Even after a successful transplant, there is no guarantee a patient will survive.

“After transplant surgery, a patient must still take various drugs to support their immune system,” David said.

“There is always a chance the patient’s body will reject the newly installed organ.”

Pioneering kidney transplants in Indonesia since the late 1970s together with Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, PGI Cikini Hospital has now conducted around 300 kidney transplants.

With thousands of patients on the waiting list for kidney transplants at various hospitals, David admits he and his colleagues often received mail from people who offered their kidneys in exchange for money.
“But we never follow up on these offers. Moreover, organ trading is illegal here,” he said.

A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that organ transplants have become a global practice, with kidney transplants now carried out in more than 90 countries.

In 2008, the organization estimated that more than 100,000 solid-organ transplants are performed every year worldwide, including 69,400 kidney transplants and 20,200 liver transplants.

With many countries facing problems in providing a sufficient number of donors, the WHO has estimated that 10 percent of global transplants currently involve trafficked organs, managed by syndicates operating in countries like India, China, the Philippines, Romania and Peru.

The organs obtained from living donors are then offered to patients in developed countries.

In the US, for example, a kidney is worth $30,000, while in Israel the same kidney goes for between $10,000 and $20,000.

Seeing how tempting the organ trafficking business can be financially, combined with the rising number of kidney patients in Indonesia, the million dollar question is whether organ transactions and trafficking exist here in Indonesia.

National Child Protection Commission chief Arist Merdeka Sirait said the commission suspected there were, after learning about a series of child mutilation cases during the past decade.

A recent child mutilation case involved Baekuni, or Babe, a patron of street children at Pulo Gadung terminal in East Jakarta. Babe made the commission suspicious, as some of Babe’s victims were found with vital organs missing.

“The police should also have expanded their investigation to the possibility of organ trafficking behind those murders,” he said.

Iskandar Sitorus from the Legal Aid Institute for Health shared similar concerns.

“Logically, those who have money want to pay [for the organ] however expensive it is. This, of course, supports the law of supply and demand will roll the demand and supply in the organ trafficking business,” he said.

In 2008, two Indonesians pleaded guilty in a Singapore court for agreeing to sell their kidneys to two patients in Singapore.

Sulaiman Damanik, 26, was sentenced to two weeks in prison and fined S$1,000 (US$770) fine after agreeing to sell his kidney for S$23,700 to a Singapore businessman.

Meanwhile, Toni, 27, was sentenced to three months in prison and fined S$2,000 for selling his kidney to Indonesian Juliana Soh for more than S$29,000.

Both Sulaiman and Toni were from Deli Serdang in North Sumatra, raising suspicions that organ trafficking was taking place in areas along Sumatra’s northern coast, which is close to neighboring countries.

During a recent visit to Bagan Siapiapi on the northern coast of Riau province, The Jakarta Post also found rumors circulating about infant trading practiced by the local Chinese community, for either adoption or organ-trafficking purposes.

“I found at least two pregnant women in my community who left home and then returned without their babies,” a local community head told the Post.

“Some people said the women had sold their babies for Rp 200 million to people in Malaysia and Singapore through a local middleman.”

Separately, a source at the local police said that infant trading used to be a common practice in the city, which was once famous as the country’s largest fishing center.

“Until today, however, [the police] have no records of any such cases,” he said.

“Moreover, the [Chinese] community here is very well known for their social exclusiveness. Either there are no more infant trafficking cases, or they are just too good at hiding them.”

The police have also repeatedly denied rumors about the possibility of organ trafficking in many mutilation cases in the country.

Mun’im Idris, a prominent forensic scientist who has examined many mutilation victims in Indonesia, also said he did not believe there were any organ trafficking syndicates behind these cases.

“The syndicate must first have a willing patient and be equipped with extensive medical facilities before taking organs from their victims. So it’s not possible here,” he said.

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