Organ Trafficking Propaganda from Ukrainian Troops Coming to Life

Ukrainian fact-checkers are already presenting this video as part of the Russian propaganda. The Center for Countering Disinformation is publishing on Facebook that the information is fake. Specifically, it is prohibited in Ukraine to harvest organs from deceased individuals who belong to the category of orphaned children and children deprived of parental care, incapacitated individuals. Likewise, it is not allowed to harvest organs from individuals of unknown identities or from military or civilian personnel (representatives of the Armed Forces) who have suffered due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, clarifies Vox Ukraine

We are fact-checking a post on the social network Facebook sharing a video claiming that “a price list for organs from soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces was found in the vicinity of Kharkiv”.

Ukrainian fact-checkers are already presenting this video as part of Russian propaganda. The Center for Countering Disinformation published on Facebook that the information is untrue.

Enemy Telegram channels are spreading information that the Russian military allegedly found evidence of organ trafficking in the Kupiansk sector. According to the propagandists, permanent sites for organ harvesting and separation of body parts are located in the city of Izyum and the village of Borova in the Kharkiv region. Such fakes are part of the Russian Clandestine Transplantation campaign which aims to discredit the military and political leadership of Ukraine and create a negative image of the state in the eyes of the international community. The information campaign about clandestine transplantation has been spread by the enemy since 2014. For this purpose, Russian liars create fake stories, documents, articles, and news. Earlier, the enemy had already spread a fake story about clandestine transplantation in the temporarily occupied Sievierodonetsk when it was under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, specifies the Center for Countering Disinformation.

11 October 2023, Vox Ukraine reported that Russian propaganda continued to exploit the topic of the so-called “black transplantation” and invented new fakes. This time, Ana Kuznetsova, of the State Duma of Russia, claimed that “black transplantation” constituted 7 percent of Ukraine’s total budget. According to this fake narrative, organs were taken from Ukrainians without the consent of the recipient and even their relatives.

As notified by Vox Ukraine, in the 2023 stated budget, 667 million Hryvnias were allocated for organ transplantation and other anatomical materials. However, this is not a black market transplantation as propagandists claim. Every donor and recipient undergo a specific selection process before organ transplantation. Anyone needing organ transplantation must register in the Unified State Information System for Transplantation.

Transplantology is not a profitable activity for Ukraine as all organ transplant operations are completely free for both the donor and the recipient. In 2018, Ukraine launched a pilot program for state-funded transplantations, where every organ transplant operation is 100 percent covered by the State. Moreover, according to the Law on Organ and Other Anatomical Materials Transplantation in Humans, it is prohibited to make agreements for buying and selling human organs, reported Vox Ukraine.

The Ministry of Health reports that 32 medical centers carry out transplantations in Ukraine. In 2022, medical professionals performed 384 organ transplant operations, which constitutes an increase of 20 percent more than in 2021. However, in the first half of 2023, they conducted 257 such operations.

Anyone who wishes to become a donor while alive in Ukraine must submit their application to any transplant center. After this, they must undergo a full medical examination, where doctors will determine if the person can become a living donor. In the case of posthumous donation, transplantation is carried out exclusively with the written consent of the recipient, which they filled out during their lifetime or with the written permission of their relatives.

However, even for posthumous donations, there are certain restrictions. Specifically, it is prohibited to harvest organs from deceased individuals who belong to the category of orphaned children and children deprived of parental care, incapacitated individuals. Likewise, it is not allowed to harvest organs from individuals with unknown identities or from military or civilian personnel (representatives of the Armed Forces) who have suffered due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, clarifies Vox Ukraine.

Similar disinformation content has already been covered by the Ukrainian fact-checkers Disinfo Chronicle.

As specified by the fact-checkers from Stop Fake, Ukrainian legislation has prohibited organ transplants of servicemen who died during hostilities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2019. A new draft law under review is designed to clarify previously adopted norms, broadening the ban on organ removal from servicemen who died in the line of duty anywhere in Ukraine where hostilities are taking place. The ban on removing organs for transplantation will also apply to persons who serve in military and law enforcement bodies, or their units, institutions, and organizations formed following the laws of Ukraine, as determined by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to secure compliance with the martial law system, protect the interests of the State and the security of the citizens who died in the line of duty due to wounds from military (combat) operations in Ukraine or in some of its regions where martial law is enforced under Ukrainian law.

Due to all of the above-noted facts, the fact-checked post is assessed as untrue.

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