T

he National Police raided Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital on Thursday due to allegations that the hospital might be involved in organ trade.

The police scrutinized several rooms in the state-owned hospital, searching for documents that may lead to donors or victims of illegal organ transplants.

'€œWe are looking for case-related documents and seeking clarification of a previous report that a victim had been operated on in the hospital to remove his kidney,'€ said the National Police anti-human trafficking division head Adj. Sr. Comr. Arie Darmanto, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The police have named and detained three male suspects on allegations of harvesting and selling kidneys to hospitals, a practice that is in violation of Law No. 36/2009 on health and Law No. 21/2007 on human trafficking.

Besides wooing others to sell their kidneys, two of the suspects, Yana Priatna alias Amang and Dedi Supriadi bin Oman Rahman, are reported to have sold their kidneys for Rp 70 million.

Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) chairman Slamet Budiarto said that although organ transplants are a common practice across the country, it is illegal to trade in organs.

'€œAs far as I know, kidney donors should be sincere, so if money is given [to a donor] it should be voluntary, not by force,'€ he said.

Article 64 Point 2 and 3 of the health law stipulate that one can donate his or her organs for the sake of humanity, without any monetary exchange.