Costa Rica Takes Steps to Prevent “Organ Transplant Tourism”

On May 30, 2013 La Nacion reported that Costa Rican Deputy Minister of the Interior Freddy Montero was not surprised by a recent report by Mexican newspaper “El Universal” denouncing organ transplant tourism in Costa Rica. However, Montero stated that, so far, Costa Rica has been working well to prevent this crime, and mentioned a recent bill to regulate organ donation and a February law which for the first time imposes penalties for trafficking organs.

The Deputy Minister added that on April 24 there was an interagency meeting to discuss the enforcement of laws against trafficking organs. The meeting was attended by members of the Costa Rican Department of Social Security, the Ministry of Health, the Department of Immigration, the National Coalition against Trafficking and the International Organization for Migration. However, Montero admitted that there is still some governmental vulnerability in preventing private clinics from using trafficked organs. Read Article