Are you curious to know how much your body parts cost on the dark web? Everyone has a price, and, unfortunately, everyone has a cost. Legally traded human organs are incredibly expensive and out of reach for most people. However, the black market offers these organs at a fraction of the cost compared to the white market, but with significant moral and legal implications. Let’s dive into the scary underworld, where human life is given a chilling price tag.
How Much Is Your Body Worth on Darknet?
· Kidneys Sold in $300,000
Kidneys are the most popular human organ sales on the dark web. Therefore, it is not surprising that they are also one of the most expensive things to buy illegally. About $200,000; most individuals who need a kidney transplant due to medical problems like diabetes and high blood pressure won’t be able to afford it.
Pathetically, only a few US patients on the kidney waitlist will have a legal opportunity to save their lives. In 2013, only 16,896 kidney transplants were completed in the United States, while 100,000 patients were on the waiting list. It is worth noting that the price of these organs is much lower in India and China.
· Liver Sold in $200,000
In the United States, liver diseases, including alcoholic liver disease, hepatitis B and C, cirrhosis, and cancer, are increasing and requiring more transplants. As of 2015, chronic liver diseases killed almost 30,000 Americans each year. The waiting period for a transplant is often too long, and the expense of this surgery is also very expensive for many patients. Turning to the Black market to find a replacement for a liver is less costly and more convenient. Today, if you sold your liver, you would get around $157,000.
If your liver is healthy, you can live without a portion of it, and the rest of it will grow back naturally. It is hard to find a Black-Market buyer who is ready to pay a higher price for a partial liver, but there is legal living-donor liver transplant surgery.
· Heart Sold At the Price of $1,000,000
Legal heart transplants are much more expensive in the US and require $997,700, which is a crucial part of the $1.4 million cost associated with heart transplant surgery. Most individuals do not have more than $1 million to save their lives, and the Black Market makes the process much more reasonable. An illegal heart purchase is worth $119,000, making the cost of a legal heart seem like a real crime.
· Corneas Sold At S30,000
The cornea is an important part of the body because damage to it can lead to blindness. After all, individuals can permanently damage their eye vision from a long list of apparently innocuous things, including looking at a solar eclipse without proper eye protection. As usual, the Black Market has stepped in to meet this need. Whether legally or illegally, it is the most frequently transplanted tissue.
As per reports, corneas are worth approximately $30,000 in the Black Market and usually come from dead bodies. However, if your corneas are sold after your death, that money won’t be fruitful for you.
· Bone Marrow Worth $3,000
The fastest and most legal way to obtain $3,000 is to donate a gram of bone marrow, but finding the right genetic match can be challenging. The experience is quite painful and exhausting.
· Eggs Sold up to $5000 to $50,000
According to US laws, it is legal to buy and sell human eggs, but there is a Global Black Market that has been known to prey on young women. In 2019, it was reported that a Chinese college girl sold her eggs to an illicit fertility agency because she needed to repay a $9,000 loan.
Meanwhile, some sources report that lawful donors can get compensation ranging from $5,000 to $35,000 or even up to $50,000 via special donation organizations. The cost depends on the donor’s perceived appeal, which includes health, physical appearance, ethnicity, education, and intelligence level. However, the procedure is quite risky and painful.
· Bones & Ligaments Sold for $5,000
It seems unbelievable, but even unbroken human bones are available for sale on the Black Market. Also, ligaments are another of the most demanding items in the dark world.
Bones and ligaments are usually stolen from dead bodies. An entire corpse is worth approximately $5,000, so the cost of a bone is a fraction of that.
· Coronary Artery Sold at $1,525
Heart disease is one of the most common health conditions a person can have. There are various surgeries used to treat this issue, ranging from a coronary bypass to a heart transplant.
Although coronary artery transplants don’t occur, there is still significant demand for this specific body part. In fact, selling this artery may give you around $1,525.
· Small Intestine Sold For Just $2,519
Small intestine transplants are a very complex and rare surgery, but they are the best possible solution for survival in some cases. This operation is often offered to people who have had a large portion of their small intestine removed or are suffering from intestinal failure. A small intestine is bought or sold in the Black Market just like any other human body parts.
The dark web estimates the cost of this body part at $2,529. However, getting a new intestine legally can cost up to $1.1 million, and this includes the high cost of the transplant procedure.
· Skulls With Teeth Sold for $1,200
In numerous cases, items obtained through the Black Market are not used for human transplantation. Body parts, including the spleen, gallbladder, and shoulder, are more likely to end up in the hands of a medical researcher or collector of oddities. A human skull with all of its teeth is another prime instance. Nowadays, those who own one of these desired items can sell it for $1,200.
Technically, it is allowed to sell various types of human remains, including skulls, but some websites, such as eBay, have prohibited the practice, and federal regulations may change.
· Spleen Sold At the Price of $508
Spleen transplants have been successful in rodents, but there is still a long way to go before this becomes a regular human surgery. Interestingly, at least one patient has received a kidney transplant to replace their spleen. People can live without their spleen, although this is not recommended because this organ serves many roles, including helping the immune system.
By the time human spleen transplants become possible, the Black Market is likely to have numerous options. Currently, the Black Market buyer will buy a spleen for $508.This price will rise once surgeons begin giving spleen transplants.
· Scalp Sold For $600
In 2015, Houston surgeons performed the world’s first scalp transplant. This could potentially lead to scalp transplants to treat a lot of issues, including male pattern baldness. The scalp transplant was performed for a man who lost his scalp due to a rare type of cancer.
Right now, a scalp is worth around $600, making it one of the cheapest body parts available.
· Gallbladder In Just $1,200
Gallbladder surgery is an excellent option for the 1 in 10 Americans who suffer from gallstones. However, it would be quite unusual to replace the gallbladder after it has been removed.
Regardless, a healthy gallbladder can still be sold on the Black Market for more than $1,200.
· Get Stomach In $500
Believe it or not, digestion does not require a full stomach. However, in some circumstances, the digestive system gets so damaged that a new stomach becomes an absolute necessity. In one of these extremely uncommon cases, a Georgia woman received a multi-visceral transplant that included a stomach, liver, spleen, pancreas, and small and large intestinal replacements.
The Black Market recognizes the infrequent necessity for a stomach transplant, but the scarcity of this procedure keeps the price modest at just over $500.
· Shoulder Sold For $500
Patients who have shoulder replacement surgery get a metal ball to replace the damaged humeral head. What if it were possible to get a genuine human humeral head from another person? It remains to be seen whether surgeons will consider this as a suitable replacement alternative. If that day ever arrives, the Black Market has several shoulders for sale. A human shoulder is currently valued at around $500.
· Get Blood for $337 Per Pint
While most people are ready to donate blood, there is still usually a big shortage of this necessary, life-sustaining component of the human body, both for patients and pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, illicit blood farming has become an incredibly common practice. In India, some individuals become trapped in so-called blood farms, where they are kept in cages and forced to donate blood.
Another source of the blood industry is the jail system, where drug companies in the 1970s paid prisoners in the US for Blood that was sadly contaminated with hepatitis C. The standard price of this blood on the Black Market is $337 per pint.
· Hair Sold for Hundreds of Dollars
The majority of people cut off their hair with the intention of giving it to cancer patients. However, there is also a demand for hair on the Black Market.
This is mainly due to collecting hair to sell for wigs, and selling it (or stealing it from someone and then selling it) can earn you hundreds of dollars.
· Skin Sold for $10 Per Square Inch
Every year, one million Americans suffer from a severe skin burn. Approximately half of these are serious enough to require hospitalization. At that time, a skin graft may be necessary.
Skin grafts are often taken from different parts of the patient’s body, although in some cases, skin can be harvested from deceased organ donors, and this procedure is known as an allograft. The Black Market picks up some of the slack, pricing skin at $10 per square inch.
5 Key Factors That Affect Body Parts Cost
The cost of body parts on the dark web is affected by multiple factors that contribute to the supply and demand flux of this Black Market. Knowing these factors is significant in understanding the fluctuating prices and the price tag assigned to different body organs.
1. Availability
The shortage of specific organs and tissues plays an important role in increasing their prices. Due to limited availability, high-demand organs such as the liver and kidneys may generate excessive amounts. Rare organs or body parts, such as corneas or bone marrow, are also high in demand and come with expensive pricing.
2. Demand And Need
The level of need for a specific body part highly affects its price. Life-giving organs, including hearts or lungs, are often in high demand and can fetch excessive costs. Moreover, the urgent need of the buyer can also drive up the price, as people willing to pay a high price for a transplant may have a limited period to wait for a legal organ donation.
3. Risks and Challenges of Buying
The risks and difficulties associated with buying a body part contribute to its cost. Illicit-sourced organs or tissues may require a secret network, specialized medical equipment, or the involvement of multiple people; all of these increase the price. The greater the risk, the more expensive the organ becomes.
4. Geographic Location
Body parts costs can vary depending on the geographical location of the buyer and seller. Factors including the country’s legal framework, the presence of law enforcement efforts, and the frequency of illegal trade in a certain region can affect the prices. Prices may be higher in areas with tougher rules and effective enforcement due to the additional risks faced by individuals engaged in unlawful trade.
5. Organizational Networks
Arranged criminal networks play an important role in the illegal trade of body parts. These networks have generated contacts, resources, and types of equipment for collecting and transferring organs and tissues. The presence of these networks can increase prices since they frequently want a huge amount of the profits as compensation for coordination and facilitation.
It is important to note that these factors should not be seen as encouraging or supporting the illegal trade of body parts. Instead, they reveal insights into the forces that flourish this Black Market and supply demand for organs, tissues, and other body parts on the dark web.
