In the Preface, I explained why I am writing this particular volume. To not, overwhelm the reader and bog down the narrative, I have included an in-depth discussion on the following topics: (1) Illegal Organ Harvesting, (2) The Philippines, (3) Organ Harvesting in the Philippines, (4) The Vatican and the Pope, (5) Ovcharkas.

In the three previous volumes of the Anderson Saga, I have discussed many subjects, however, there was no question as to what the main subject was and that was Human trafficking, with a particular emphasis on child trafficking and sex trafficking. As a result, I spent a lot of time researching the subject and in turn, discussing the subject. Until recently, while being aware of organ harvesting, I had no inkling as to how big a problem it truly was. Many experts on the subject include it in the category of human trafficking.

While I have covered it in depth in the appendices, I want to touch base on a few key areas in this most insidious form of trafficking. In many cases, this trafficking is driven by the seller and not the purchaser. Here are a few factors that make organ harvesting a viable option. (1) the country or region has a large population of impoverished people, (2) there is a presence of unethical doctors and hospitals who are willing to do organ harvesting, and (3) there is a lax implementation of the law. This third factor has to be present because organ harvesting is illegal in most countries worldwide.

You may ask why someone would voluntarily subject themselves to hardship. In industrial countries, many people donate a kidney or a portion of their liver out of love. In other words, they are doing it to save a family member. In my humble opinion, this is one of the noblest of actions or gestures that one can make. The vast number of organ donations in industrial countries, however, are from nonliving individuals, and where no money is given to the families of these donors.

In third countries, it is an entirely different story. There are fewer deceased organ donors. This is mainly due to religious beliefs. Jewish people and Muslim people alike believe that removing organs is a desecration and can interfere with their loved one’s ascension in the afterlife. This is not to say that there aren’t a lot of organ donors, they are just living donors. The reason for this trend is severe and abject poverty.

Across the Middle East and North Africa, living-related and non-related kidney transplants for almost 85% of organ transplant activity. In Egypt, 2/3rds of the transplants performed are between unrelated living donors.

You may recall that I mentioned that parents will sell their children to traffickers just to pay off their debts or to put food on their tables. Well, the same is true of kidneys and portions of their lives. The parents will not only sell their organs but those of their children as well.

Can you imagine what dire straights you must be in to resort to taking such actions as these to save your family? Some people may blame the parents for allowing this state of affairs to take place. I say nay. I blame our politicians and governments for allowing matters to reach this state. The US donates billions of dollars to these third-world countries. Where does the money go? I am sure it never reaches those who are most in need. It is ok to donate this money, however, where the money goes needs to be monitored.

So where does the blame lay? The blame lies with apathy, fear, and laziness. People along with governments just don’t have the ambition to do what is morally right. This may reside in the fear of causing disorder, mayhem, or tumult. People in power tend to become complacent or lazy. It takes a lot of effort to monitor people’s or a country’s behavior. Doing the right thing is a lot harder than doing the wrong thing. There is simply too much money in sin, to ever do away with it. Thanks to the poor education of vast numbers of the people living in our world corrupt governance is simple. There is an old saying that ignorance is bliss. This goes to ways. Another saying what you don’t know won’t hurt you. You can look at it another way, our ignorance creates a blissful situation for those in power. Without a system of checks and balances and a way to monitor a government’s actions, it is only a matter of time before a country is overrun by evil deeds and evil men.

I also blame greed for many of the woes in this world. The main culprits are the arms dealers. There is more money in destruction than in construction. There are trillions of dollars spent arming countries and waging wars every year. What a waste of resources. If not traveling to distant planets, then surely our world would be a garden spot, with an end of poverty, disease, and racism, and tolerance being the norm and not the exception. You may think I am dreaming. But stop and think what our world would be like if instead of the last 4,000 years fighting endless wars we had been living in peace. What we could have accomplished. Back in the 1950s just to name a few, countries like Cuba, Afghanistan, and Iran were garden spots. Now look at them.

Racism is another cause of discord in this world. If you cut a person, no matter what color their skin, the blood is red. Skin color is simply an adaptation to various climates in our world. Nothing more nothing less. Skin color does not infer superiority or inferiority. Religious intolerance has caused as many or more wars than has racism. Except for religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, most modern religions center on the belief that there is just one god. So why can’t we get along? The answer lies with radicalism. The more fervent one’s belief system the more intolerant the individual. Hardcore or true believers feel so strongly about their belief system, that they just can’t believe that there is any other way. If there is only one true path to salvation, then those who follow other paths must be evil.

Radicalism begins with a limited educational system. Where children are only taught one lesson or system at the exclusion of all else, a radical will soon be born. Radicalism fosters intolerance, which will eventually lead to discord and ultimately war. So there you have it. Discord, greed, apathy, laziness, and intolerance all lead to corruption and ultimately poverty. When people are crushed by a hopeless situation, they will resort to just about anything to break that cycle, even selling their offspring or they’re own organs.

How do we break the cycle? Education and courageous behavior are good starting places. There is one certainty the path toward salvation, is not easy. It is long and arduous. Simple acts of compassion will go a long way helping us stay the course.

To do this we must understand one more thing. Organ harvesting can best be understood if it is thought of as an informal economic activity as opposed to a human trafficking offense. It is economic pressures and the demands of survival rather than traffickers that force people into exploitative arrangements that they would otherwise avoid.

There has been a concerted effort by the international arena to at least slow down illegal organ harvesting. WHO or World Health Organization has formulated guidelines and principles for human cell, tissue, and organ transplantation. In 2014 the council in Europe established a convention against trafficking in human organs.

Many countries have followed the lead set by Egypt with its 2010 Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, which makes it a criminal offense to buy or sell an organ. This act and in conjunction with the Egyptian Law of Trafficking in Persons, individuals who are implicated in Organs are subject to Trafficking offenses. Despite these actions, commercial transplants persist.

The meaning behind the old saying “There is a will, there is a way,” has become quite evident in illegal organ harvesting. The only effect that these laws have had is to drive the whole infrastructure and process underground. Private clinics and analytics labs have proliferated. This has made it increasingly difficult for transplant professionals to monitor the treatment of organ recipients and organ sellers. The organ trade is facilitated by a network of corrupt officials, medical professionals, and brokers who ensure that the transactions remain hidden from authorities. For example, soliciting organs over social media also allows brokers to change identities often to avoid tracking by law enforcement.

You may notice that I talk about the Egyptian Trafficking Protocol quite a lot. I do this because it serves as the basis for a lot of international law. It asserts that victims. Of Trafficking will not be held criminally or civilly liable for any illegal activity they may have been involved in as long as the crime occurred or was directly related to being a victim. Illegal migrants, however, are not recognized within the framework of regulatory protection.

Furthermore, the increasingly high number of undocumented migrants has aided the procurement process. Because these migrants are not protected by the same laws as citizens, thanks to their reticence in identifying themselves as trafficking victims and their inability to generate an income, many of these individuals are falling through the cracks, so to speak. Thus, it is becoming more and more challenging to obtain accurate numbers.

Because the migrant population is in many instances barred from the formal labor market they are providing a key source of organs.

With ever-increasing profits in the Illicit organ trafficking market and the growing lack of oversight, the marketing process has become less voluntary and more coercive. This is especially evident in India, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Dictatorial countries like China have taken an entirely different tactic, and instead of organ harvesting going underground, it has become a governmentally supported endeavor. In China, for instance, many prisoners slated for execution are first harvested. And since life sustainability is not an issue, there is no limit to the organs that can be harvested.

Brokers, the individuals who typically act as the go-between for donors and the doctors and hospitals that perform the surgical procedures, utilize various techniques to obtain these organs. One of the things the brokers exploit is the lack of education prevalent among individuals experiencing poverty. Brokers tell vulnerable and uneducated communities the story of the sleeping kidney: “One kidney sleeps, the other kidney works, so people do not need two kidneys. Doctors turn on the sleeping kidneys, extract the old kidney, and give it to the recipient.” Others say they were told their organ would regrow, and they do not need it. Additionally, brokers exploit donors’ lack of knowledge by recruiting them through deceptive advertisements. One researcher collected over 1,200 newspaper ads with false promises to potential organ sellers, such as visas, vacations, jobs, and citizenship in North America or Europe. Like human trafficking, these methods include fraudulent job offers, withholding of passports, threats, and physical abuse. Organ buyers also use social media platforms by opening support groups and pretending to be the relatives of someone in need of an organ. Most low-income people are ashamed to have resorted to selling an organ to pay their debts or buy food, word gets around about this method of financial gain, resulting in more people becoming connected to the brokers. People living in high-poverty neighborhoods have fewer resources and are more likely to be isolated, and are therefore less likely to find less invasive and life-altering methods for assistance.

In India, going to a local bar can be a life-threatening venture. Many people have woken up in alleys with large abdominal scars, missing kidneys, and sections of their livers gone as well. These individuals are the fortunate ones because some have not woken up, or have done so with both of their kidneys having been removed. Those who have survived having both kidneys stolen now face the bleak future of either imminent death or, if lucky, a lifetime of hemodialysis. In the case of my nephew Kyle, there was no thought or concern for the survival of the donor. While these more aggressive and fatal instances are taking place, they are thankfully not the norm.

Addressing this more aggressive and often fatal form of organ harvesting is where we will find our fictional hero, Devon. Thanks to Varga Bardhi’s (Burak Kaya) selfless sacrifice, Devon has no choice but to seek new allies. Therefore, he finds himself now fighting side by side with new allies in a valiant attempt at slaying this insidious dragon that is illegal organ harvesting and trafficking. Even the redoubtable and stalwart Devon has his limits, so he will not be tasked with addressing the organ harvesting situation in China and other communist and dictatorial countries.