PIP: With recent advances in transplanting human organs, increasing numbers of people in need of replacement organs are opting for transplantation. These medical advances and the subsequent public demand have, however, led to a supply-demand problem in which more patients request replacement organs than the number which are readily available. A flourishing international trade in human organs has developed in response to the comparatively high demand for organs. Organs in demand are bought from the poor for transplantation to wealthy clientele. For their contacts and services, brokers, private hospitals, and physicians earn enormous profits. It is estimated that more than 2000 kidneys since 1990 have been sold annually in India to wealthy recipients from the Middle East, the Far East, and Europe. The phenomenon has alarmed the medical profession, the public, and many governments and has been condemned by all major religions and most transplant societies. The author also condemns the sale of human organs as being damaging to the cause of transplantation as well as many other moral, religious, and ethical values and beliefs of society. The sale of organs negatively affects their altruistic donation by the public as well as the development of local cadaver procurement programs by national governments. All forms of paid organ donation should therefore be made illegal in all countries of the world. Sections consider the donor, the recipient, local transplant programs, the medical profession, and the impact upon society.