The European Parliament Discusses the Organ Transplants in Albania

The suspicion of existence of trafficking of the human organs of Albanian children for the needs of patients in the EU member states, has urged the Greek Member of European Parliament, Ana Karamanu, to demand an explanation from the EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten. Chris Patten In the correspondence between the European Parliament and the Commission, Karamanu, from the Greek Socialist Party (PASOK), demands from Chris Patten to put pressure on the Albanian Government in order for this to prevent these crimes. Karamanu also demanded from the EU member states to improve the judicial and police collaboration against this phenomena. In her request to the European Commissioner, Ana Karamanu calls on articles published in the Albanian press and media, which quoted sources in the Italian Government. «According to these articles, a clinic in Fieri city, practices the removal of the children organs to further transport them in Italy and France, with involvement by Italian and French groups and individuals», writes Karamanu in her letter. «According to the media, these doctors mobilise Albanian networks, which pay the children’s parents whose organs are removed. Apart form this, figures report 39 missing children with no trace in Albania and their parents making no effort to find them», justifies her question Ana Karamanu. «The European Commission has heard the rumours referring to a surgery clinic in Fier, allegedly involved in organ trafficking to the EU, but the response of the Albanian authorities regarding this issue was that ‘the technology and the necessary specialisation for the transporting of the organs does not exist in Albania’, raising suspicions on the very existence of this clinic», answered Chris Patten. According to the European Commissioner, the Mission of the Police Assistance of the EU has followed the reactions of the Albanian authorities regarding this question and has confirmed that the Albanian and Italian police forces are handling the necessary investigations. «But, apart from the investigations, for this special case, the trafficking of the human beings remains a great problem in Albania», explains Chris Patten. «Although the Report of the Commission notes progress in the reduction of the emigration flow and human trafficking across the Adriatic, the resolving of this problem requires much more action by the Albanian authorities», says Patten. In the mean time Patten explained the need for Albania to establish a stronger collaboration with the neighbouring countries, in order to improve the results in the struggle against the criminal activities, and of special importance is the collaboration with the Europol. The history of the infants’ scandal in 1998 at the Tirana Maternity Hospital Why did Elizza Possca, Member of the European Parliament, visit Albania? The Euro Parliament Member Elizza Possca surprised the lawyers in May 1998, when she knocked on the door of the Tirana General Prosecution Office. Taking interest in the case of the babies missing from the Tirana Maternity Hospital, she demanded information about the investigation on this case. According to Possca, soon the European Parliament will discuss about this kind of traffic. According to her it was the case of a scandal discovered in the cemetery of Shish Tufina, when an undertaker, surprised by the fact that some of the coffins which were supposed to have the bodies of 12 infants, were too light. It proved that two of the coffins were empty. This brought about the scandal which was published in the “Koha Jone” journal and the Tirana Prosecution Office begun a penal procedure. There is suspicion that the mothers were told that their babies died at birth, while the babies were still alive and sold abroad. Another version states that the organs of the children were taken out and smuggled abroad, for patients waiting transplants in Western Europe. There were rumours involving the existence of a special clinic for organ transplantation where foreigners were the most regular clients. The event, covered extensively by “Koha Jone” journal, was echoed in the European media. On May 26, 1998, the General Prosecution Office ordered the exhumations of nine bodies in the Shish Tufina cemetery. This procedural act added further suspicions. The experts came to the conclusion that the graves were formerly opened. But instead of acting, the files on the case wandered for two years in the offices of the General Prosecutor, and no investigation was started. By a decision of the General Prosecution Office the case was suspended and the file was sent again to the police for renewed investigation. How was it discovered The trafficking in human organs have flourished between Albania and Italy. The investigations of the secret services report that they have discovered horrible instances of criminal activities. In a speed boat that transported illegal immigrants, two special containers were discovered with eye-retinas and kidneys freshly removed form the human bodies. These organs were prepared according to all the necessary medical norms for urgent implanting in the specialised clinics in the Italian region of Lazio. “Il Giornale” covered the scandal of human organs trafficking, for which they accused the Albanian Mafia.