The case involving the first ever proven organ theft in the United States is drawing to a close as a New York man pled guilty to brokering three illegal kidney transplants in federal court. According to CBS News, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum admitted to selling the stolen organs from people in Israel for payments of $120,000 or more from U.S. customers.
While Rosenbaum admits his guilt, however, his attorneys have been arguing that he performed a “lifesaving service for desperately ill people” waiting on a long list for transplants. His federal prosecutors reject this argument, saying that organ theft is not only illegal but dangerous.
“A black market in human organs is not only a grave threat to public health, it reserves lifesaving treatment for those who can best afford it at the expense of those who cannot,” said New Jersey’s U.S. attorney, Paul Fisherman. “We will not tolerate such an affront to human dignity.”
Defense lawyers defended Rosenbaum’s practice by pointing out that the New Yorker never sought clients, but that recipients turned to him and the kidney doctors involved knew where the organs were found. The money involved was not for personal gain, but rather for expenses associated with procedures. The transplants were performed by qualified surgeons in prestigious American hospitals, the attorneys said, though they declined to name which ones.
Rosenbaum was arrested for his practice as part of a crackdown on corruption in New Jersey, CBS said.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, demand for kidneys far outstrips the supply, with 4,540 people dying in the U.S. last year while waiting on a transplant list.
