Pakistan is investigating a syndicate suspected of smuggling alleged human placenta from hospitals to make anti-aging injections.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have accused the ring of buying 200kg (440lbs) of the organ from various hospitals each month. They dry and process them before shipping it abroad, the FIA told BBC Urdu.
During a raid in Islamabad last week, officials uncovered 500kg of what is believed to be human placenta at an illegal processing facility, leading to the arrest of five people.
Photographs shared by the agency show trays of dried placenta arranged in trolley carts inside a house which has been “converted into a facility for storing and processing placenta”.
Separately, FIA officials on Wednesday intercepted a 100kg shipment of the human body tissue at the Islamabad airport that was bound for Vietnam.
The five suspects bought the placentas from hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at about 800 rupees ($2.90; £2.20) per piece, says Hina Kanwal, an officer at Pakistan’s Human Organ Transplant Authority.
They were meant to be exported to be made into anti-ageing injections, each of which would cost 700,000 rupees ($2,530; £1,890), according to the FIA.
The agency believes that the syndicate’s operations extend beyond the capital, into other large cities like Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. It is also investigating immigration officers, waste management companies and hospitals for possible complicity.
In Pakistan, those found guilty of harvesting human organs for commercial purposes can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined up to 1m rupees.
An FIA official told BBC Urdu the agency had previously “taken several actions against illegal human organ transplantation”, but this is the first case involving an “organised, international network dealing in human placenta”.
The five suspects had initially claimed they were handling sheep’s placenta, but said upon further interrogation that it was human placenta, officials say.
Sadaf Tariq, a gynaecologist in Pakistan, says there are strict regulations around the disposal of placenta, which is considered “highly infectious medical waste”.
In most countries around the world – as is the case in Pakistan, the placenta is typically discarded as clinical waste once the baby is delivered.
Only government-approved companies are allowed to handle such disposals, which hospitals have to keep stringent records of.
Placenta is a temporary organ that develops in the uterus during pregnancy and sustains life in the womb. It fulfils its primary purpose once it leaves the mother during childbirth.
But some people believe the placenta, which is rich in protein, iron and fat, is nutritious for adults too. It has also been made into pills and injections that some say can help with tissue regeneration. Scientific evidence behind these practices vary, as do regulations across the world.
