Residents of Afghanistan’s “One Kidney Village” in Herat reportedly sold kidneys to repay debt, buy food, and survive economic collapse.
Reports found that nearly every lane in the settlement had residents with scars from kidney removal surgery.
Investigations linked Herat’s transplant trade to brokers, legal loopholes, and private transplant networks.
Donors described chronic pain, weakness, and limited access to post operative medical follow up.
Public health experts say Afghanistan’s kidney trade reflects the medical and humanitarian impact of food insecurity, poverty, and organ trafficking.
A settlement on the outskirts of Herat in western Afghanistan has become internationally known as “One Kidney Village” after dozens of residents sold kidneys in an attempt to feed their families, repay debt, or survive the country’s economic collapse. In some lanes, nearly every household has at least one resident with a visible surgical scar linked to kidney removal procedures.¹
The village, located in Injil district near Herat, first drew global attention in 2021 and 2022 when international journalists documented scars on the bodies of men and women who had undergone kidney removal surgery in exchange for cash. Reports from Al Jazeera, CGTN, and other outlets found that nearly every lane in the settlement had residents who had sold a kidney.²˒³˒⁴
Several residents told reporters that as many as one member from almost every household had undergone kidney removal. Some families said both husband and wife had sold organs.⁴
The humanitarian crisis worsened after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, triggering the suspension of foreign aid, banking restrictions, loss of employment, and rising food prices. According to the United Nations, more than 24 million people in Afghanistan required humanitarian assistance in 2022, while over half the country faced acute food insecurity.⁵ The humanitarian emergency was severe. Reporting citing the World Food Programme found that by late 2021, 98 percent of Afghans faced insufficient food consumption.⁶ Journalists visiting the settlement also documented children with visible signs of malnutrition, including thin limbs and reduced growth, in several donor households.²˒¹⁵
In Herat, families who once worked in construction, agriculture, or small businesses said income disappeared within months. Some residents told reporters they borrowed money to buy food, then turned to organ brokers when debts became impossible to repay.⁷
Interviews published by AFP and reproduced by multiple international outlets found that donors usually received between 150,000 and 300,000 Afghanis, roughly US$1,500 to US$3,000 depending on exchange rates and negotiation.⁸ However, many said middlemen, medical expenses, debt collectors, or previous lenders took much of the payment. Humanitarian researchers also noted that the amount paid for kidneys reportedly fell as more people entered the market. Earlier transactions reportedly brought between US$3,000 and US$4,000, but by 2022 some donors said they received about US$1,500 or less.⁹ Some donors also reported borrowing money to cover travel, paperwork, or recovery expenses linked to the transplant process, leaving them in debt even after the sale.²˒¹⁰
One mother interviewed in Herat said she sold her kidney after her children went days without enough food. Another resident said he sold his organ to pay for his daughter’s medical treatment and household debt.¹⁰
Unlike many organ trafficking stories that primarily involve men, journalists documented a significant number of women donors in the settlement. Some women showed visible surgical scars and said poverty left them with no other option.¹¹ Field reporting suggested that many donors were young working age adults, often between 20 and 35 years old.¹²
Under Afghan transplant practices at the time, individuals could undergo living donor transplantation if they claimed a family relationship with the recipient. Multiple reports suggested that some unrelated donors obtained court documents identifying them as relatives of recipients, allowing commercial transplant arrangements to proceed under existing legal requirements.¹² Reports also suggested that some recipients travelled from neighboring countries including India and Pakistan for transplant procedures in Herat.⁹
Investigative reporting also found that Loqman Hakim Hospital, which advertises itself as Afghanistan’s first kidney transplantation center, had performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants over five years, drawing patients from across the country and abroad. Researchers and anti trafficking groups say this concentration of transplant services helped make Herat a major center for kidney transactions involving financially vulnerable donors.¹²
Living with one kidney can be safe when surgery takes place under regulated conditions with proper screening and lifelong follow up. However, many donors in Herat told reporters they received little or no post operative monitoring. Several described chronic pain, weakness, limited mobility, and inability to return to manual labor after surgery.¹³
The World Health Organization defines organ trafficking as the recruitment or transport of donors for organ removal through coercion, deception, abuse of vulnerability, or financial exploitation. The WHO and transplant ethics groups prohibit organ sales for commercial gain because financial pressure can undermine informed consent and long term donor safety.¹⁴
The kidney trade in Herat also drew the attention of anti trafficking organizations. Human Trafficking Search described Afghanistan’s kidney market as an example of economic exploitation where poverty, debt, hunger, and weak oversight created conditions for organ brokers to target vulnerable populations.¹²
Reports from Sky News and The Telegraph documented families who said they had sold not only organs but also household belongings, land, and in some cases arranged early marriages for daughters to secure money for food and survival.¹³˒¹⁵
Journalists in Herat also documented residents selling blood repeatedly for cash, highlighting how biological donation became a survival strategy for some families during the economic collapse.¹⁶
A follow up report published in May 2026 by Times of India found that many former donors in Herat continue to live with debt, unemployment, and health complications years after surgery. Some residents said the money from organ sales lasted only a few months, leaving families in the same economic hardship that first drove them to sell a kidney.¹
The village remains one of the starkest examples of how conflict, economic collapse, food insecurity, and weak healthcare oversight can push vulnerable communities toward irreversible medical decisions.
What is Afghanistan’s “One Kidney Village”?
It is an informal name given to a settlement near Herat where many residents reportedly sold kidneys during Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian crisis.
Can people live with one kidney?
Yes. Many people can live healthy lives with one kidney if they receive proper medical screening, surgery, and long term follow up care.
Is organ selling legal in Afghanistan?
Afghan transplant rules allowed living donation between relatives, but investigations reported that some unrelated donors allegedly obtained legal documents claiming family relationships.
Times of India, “Afghanistan’s ‘One-Kidney Village’ Where Residents Sold Organs to Survive,” May 2026, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/afghanistans-one-kidney-village-where-residents-sold-organs-to-survive/articleshow/130914723.cms.
Al Jazeera, “Desperate Afghans Resort to Selling Kidneys to Feed Families,” February 28, 2022, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/desperate-afghans-resort-to-selling-kidneys-to-feed-families.
CGTN, “Residents of Afghanistan’s One Kidney Village Sell Organs for Cash,” March 2, 2022, https://newsus.cgtn.com/news/2022-03-02/Residents-of-Afghanistan-s-One-Kidney-Village-sell-organs-for-cash-183HTd3I2qY/index.html.
The Straits Times, “One-Kidney Village: Desperate Afghans Resort to Selling Their Organs to Feed Families,” March 2022.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs Overview 2022,” 2022.
World Food Programme, “Afghanistan Emergency Updates,” 2021–2022.
Arab News, “Desperate Afghans Sell Kidneys to Feed Families,” March 1, 2021, https://www.arabnews.com/node/1815446/world.
India Today, “Desperate Afghans Sell Kidneys to Feed Families,” February 28, 2022.
The Borgen Project, “Selling Organs in Afghanistan,” April 2023.
National Post, “One-Kidney Village: Afghans So Desperate They’ve Taken to Selling Their Organs for Cash,” March 2022.
South China Morning Post, “People in Afghanistan’s One Kidney Village Sell Their Organs to Try and Feed Their Families,” March 2022.
Human Trafficking Search, “In Afghanistan, a Booming Kidney Trade Preys on the Poor,” 2022.
The Telegraph, “Afghans Forced to Sell Kidneys as Extreme Hunger Tightens Grip,” 2022.
World Health Organization, “Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation.”
Sky News, “Afghanistan: Parents Sell Children and Kidneys to Feed Starving Families,” February 2022.
Business Insider, “Facing Hunger, Desperate Afghans Are Selling Their Kidneys for Money,” January 2022.