Parliament passed the law in December after some eight years of debate, but political upheaval in Egypt kept it from taking effect until now.
The U.N. World Health Organization, (WHO) named the country as one of the five hubs for organ trafficking.
The Coalition for Organ-Failure Solutions, a health non-profit based in Washington, D.C., says that most organ sellers in Egypt are impoverished men between 22-27 while purchasers and beneficiaries tend to be over 45. About 1,500 illegal transplants take place annually, by U.N. estimate.
The Coalition says brokers solicit the poor or vulnerable for their organs, luring some from outside the country, including Sudan and Eritrea, offering them a way to make a few thousand dollars quickly. In many cases, little care is provided following organ extraction.
The new law also sets up a fund for those who up to now could not afford transplants.
What the law does not do is to define death as a function of heart or brain activity. This had been a sticking point during the campaign for the law. It instead refers cases to a panel of experts under the Ministry of Health -- the Higher Committee for Organ Transplants.
Experts say bad transportation and communication in Egypt, lack of a culture of organ donation, and a dearth of medical practitioners specializing in transplants could make it hard for the law to work.
WHO estimates that about 10 percent of organ transplants globally are a result of commercial transactions and that kidneys are the organs most commonly sought-after.
Other countries WHO has described as organ origin “hubs” are Pakistan, the Philippines, China, and Colombia. All have introduced legislation criminalizing organ transplants. Until a policy was adopted by the Phillipines in 2008, it was legal for organ recipients to search for donors online through such now-defunct sites as ‘liver4you.org.’ International health officials fear that corruption among public health officials continues.
Israel, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Kosovo, and Iraq also are major source countries for illicit organs, according to WHO.
Iran is the only country where kidney sales are completely legal. The government through The Charity Association for the Support of Kidney Patients and the Charity Foundation for Special Diseases watches over these sales and there are no waiting lists for kidneys.
