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Police in Istanbul have arrested four suspects involved in an illegal kidney transplant scheme, where a woman from France attempted to pass off an unrelated donor as her daughter to circumvent organ donation regulations.
The Istanbul Police Department's Anti-Migrant Smuggling and Border Gates Division continues its efforts to prevent organ and tissue trafficking and to identify and arrest suspicious individuals involved in such activities.
During their investigation, authorities discovered that 58-year-old Z.A., a woman living in France who was waiting for a kidney transplant, had turned to illegal means after receiving two rejections from the Provincial Organ Transplant Ethics Committee when she attempted to register D.K. as her "close friend" as a donor.
Investigators determined that Z.A.'s husband, A.A., had contacted an intermediary named T.E., who was actively searching for a hospital willing to perform the transplant. Police found that T.E. had reached out to hospitals not only in Türkiye but also in Georgia and Serbia before ultimately settling on a facility in Istanbul.
The investigation revealed that Z.A. and D.K., who had previously applied as close friends, later submitted a new application falsely claiming to be mother and daughter. D.K. presented the identity card of Z.A.'s actual daughter, C.A., to hospital officials.
The hospital discovered during pre-surgery testing that there was no blood relation between the supposed mother and daughter. Police noted that the donor, D.K., always wore a hat and mask when entering the hospital, while Z.A. never accompanied her during preliminary visits.
Law enforcement officers maintained physical surveillance until the day of the operation to catch the suspects in the act. The group had arranged the illegal transplant for approximately ₺2 million (about $51,598), with the donor and recipient entering the hospital together for the first time just one day before the scheduled surgery to complete admission procedures.
Police arrested the recipient Z.A., her husband A.A., the donor D.K., and the intermediary T.E. Following their processing at the police station, the suspects were referred to the courthouse. Z.A., A.A., and D.K. were released under judicial supervision conditions, while T.E. was sentenced to house arrest.
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