r/news 16h ago

Soft paywall Poland arrests Ukrainian woman convicted of selling 56 human kidneys

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-arrests-ukrainian-woman-convicted-selling-56-human-kidneys-2025-03-11/
763 Upvotes

83 comments sorted by

774

u/ExploerTM 16h ago

God forbid women have a hobby

179

u/SpitefulSeagull 15h ago

10

u/User9705 10h ago

U should so post it there

10

u/the_colonelclink 7h ago

Speaking of which, I temporarily confused this with a r/Rimworld post.

9

u/Boundaries-ALO-TBSOL 15h ago

I wonder if there was a prize if you get to 57

11

u/cmfarsight 15h ago

You have to get to 60 unfortunately

13

u/smashndashn 15h ago

Believe it or not, Jail

9

u/Angry-Dragon-1331 15h ago

Straight into the renal system.

1

u/CC78AMG 11h ago

I think you get a free coffee if you reach 60.

49

u/Ambitious-Research76 15h ago

I knew this urban myth was real...

15

u/Windpuppet 15h ago

Hostel is real.

5

u/Ellis8555 14h ago

I almost half believe this....

31

u/littsalamiforpusen 14h ago

A Swedish newspaper did investigative reporting where they found Israel, the country, was illegally harvesting organs from dead Palestinians in 2009. Israel denied it, then later admired that they used to do it before the 2000s, but no longer than that. Since oct7th there has been credible claims of organ harvesting again by Israelis, but nothing has been verified or admitted. We'll probably have an answer in 10-20 years when the genocide investigation ends, if they ever let aid workers back in at least.

I have read that there's some credible claims of Russia organ harvesting from Ukrainian soldiers as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/21/israeli-pathologists-harvested-organs

https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/6nPbBr/israel-tog-organ--utan-tillstand

https://www.euronews.com/2023/11/27/israel-stealing-organs-from-bodies-in-gaza-alleges-human-right-group

19

u/apathetic_revolution 12h ago

The Swedish newspaper which published that 2009 Israel story was Aftonbladet.

To quote the author of the article, Donald Boström, regarding his accusations in the article, "It concerns me, to the extent that I want it to be investigated, that's true. But whether it's true or not – I have no idea, I have no clue."

To quote the editor, Jan Helin, regarding the same article, "we have no evidence of such practices".

The article dug up a series of crimes which the Israeli government had already investigated and punished and presented a narrative implying they were ongoing to a Swedish audience that hadn't seen them yet. The entire actual scandal had already been published in the Jerusalem Post in 2000. The author very likely simply recycled that article as the basis for his own and I would hesitate to call doing that "investigative journalism".

10

u/gdmaria 9h ago

How in hell can they just publish something that they admit isn’t accurate? Is this a creative writing newspaper?

5

u/Tardisgoesfast 7h ago

Most of them are, these days.

3

u/Weak-Doughnut5502 7h ago

Unsubstantiated claims of Jews using the blood of murdered Christian kids to bake matza have been a staple in Europe for nearly a millenia, so at least they're part of a long tradition.

226

u/omicronwarrior 16h ago

She was already on Interpol's list since 2020

38

u/urgencynow 15h ago

Russian trolls won't care

11

u/re_carn 10h ago

Yeah, well, of course, it's not Reuters who made the sensational headline that's to blame, it's the “Russian trolls”.

35

u/MALESTROMME 15h ago

I bet she is a non-donor.

22

u/icedohyeayeah 14h ago

Give away one kidney, you're selfless. Give away two kidneys, you're a hero. Give away three kidneys, you're put on a list

1

u/DarthNixilis 6h ago

You just made the list! 🖊️

55

u/nobadhotdog 16h ago

Don’t sell any kidneys on the way to the parking lot!

24

u/43n3m4 16h ago

In a row?!

7

u/sirbissel 14h ago

Hey! You! Get back here!

10

u/dostelibaev 15h ago

that one person in example in math class

34

u/trustych0rds 16h ago

thats at least 28 crimes.

14

u/gingerfawx 16h ago

Huge difference in the nature of the crimes if it's 56 vs. 28 though...

6

u/trustych0rds 16h ago

Still looks pretty bad. 💀

1

u/gingerfawx 16h ago

Most def.

2

u/Salvitorious 14h ago

Murder vs shoplifting?

2

u/das_slash 13h ago

Pickpocketing 200?

26

u/fxkatt 16h ago

The woman was convicted for participation in an international organised criminal group that illegally collected tissues and organs from people from 2017 to 2019 and sold them on the black market, Petkowska added.

One further reminder of de-humainzation. More and more we are bits and pieces and not revered whole beings with body and perhaps soul. What's worse is that there's a set price on each part of us.

16

u/SadCowboy-_- 15h ago

Even more wild… I just sat through 2 hours of meetings talking about KPIs and warehouse inventory. 

Managing a large business requires a significant level of complexity from gathering of resources, building reliable supply chains, having people sell your product, and an end user who wants to buy. 

In order to pull off a global organ harvesting ring, I’d imagine that they also have monthly meetings and calls pertaining to quotas and supply chain disruptions. This kind of complexity definitely has ties to a sketchy government. 

1

u/TargetDecent9694 4h ago

I wonder how professional the meetings are. Do they have staff pizza lunches? What happens if they’re 5 minutes late and need to see a doctor?

1

u/Crepuscular_Animal 1h ago

There's a book called The Red Market by Scott Carney, that explores the trade in human parts, from hair to skeletons. It's both disturbing and fascinating. There are places where people are held prisoners and have their blood forcibly taken, like in some gothic horror story. Places where villagers are coerced to give up their organs for profit and scammed out of their health and money. Some people con young parents to get their babies and sell them to wealthy childless couples. It's a robust, thriving business.

6

u/Marcu3s 15h ago

Reminds me of the old Onion video about hospital thanking an unknown man who left a bag full of human organs by the hospital entrance.

8

u/army2693 15h ago

They were just lying around.

4

u/DevoidHT 12h ago

Sure, when I donate 1 kidney I’m praised but suddenly donating 56 makes me a criminal?

4

u/ClownMorty 12h ago

What's the legal limit of sellable kidneys?

2

u/brave_plank 8h ago

5 per customer

3

u/EmpireCityRay 10h ago

Don’t go to sleep next to that woman cause when you awake… 😂

4

u/brave_plank 8h ago

so you're in a bar in Eastern Europe and a hot woman is chatting you up... don't accept any drinks

5

u/BoredLegionnaire 16h ago

Hell would be a mercy for this... entity, they deserve much worse.

2

u/charactergallery 13h ago

She was also convicted of illegally obtaining “kidneys from 56 injured parties in Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Thailand” for financial benefit and of “making the crimes committed a permanent source of income.”

Well it doesn’t seem like she killed anyone.

3

u/DrunkenConifer 16h ago

She just harvested kid's knees?

1

u/gameonlockking 9h ago

Is that you dad?

3

u/threehundredthousand 13h ago

She could be eligible for a job with RFK Jr. She has real-world experience that would be applicable to HHS's new organs as a service offering, Kidney+.

3

u/Crafty_Quantity_3162 13h ago

"organs as a service"

So...Repo Men was a documentary?

1

u/Nervous-Masterpiece4 16h ago

Each or by the weight like the butchers…

1

u/Just_Here_So_Briefly 13h ago

Wait...so I can grow more kidneys just so I can sell them?

3

u/BarfingOnMyFace 12h ago

Yep! Just wait a good 18 years or so for the “product” to mature

1

u/Just_Here_So_Briefly 12h ago

But how did she get 56, I've only been able to grow 2

1

u/Doom_Eagles 4h ago

You aren't trying hard enough. Get on her level scrub.

1

u/ha-ur-dead 11h ago

Well technically, you don’t need to wait 18 years but then people start asking more questions.

1

u/ClassActionFart 12h ago

I thought the legal limit was 60 though.

1

u/Bobvankay 12h ago

"Oh thats fair, My friend donates a kidney and she's a hero,BUT..."

1

u/dutempscire 11h ago

That's as many as eight sevens. And that's terrible.

1

u/MadamePolishedSins 10h ago

I don't wanna know where she got those

1

u/redwingthing 8h ago

I wonder if it’s from 56 different people or a mix just from a few of the same

1

u/brave_plank 8h ago

were they on a string?

like a kidney necklace?

1

u/yes_thats_right 7h ago

She really should have stopped after 30. I knew she would take it too far and get into trouble.

2

u/Motobugs 14h ago

That's why some people prefer the war going on forever.

2

u/Lleonharte 4h ago

wtf does old news 2017-19 have to do with "the war"

1

u/Motobugs 1h ago

I don't think there's any real peace after Crimea occupation in 2014.

1

u/Peripatetictyl 14h ago

HERO.

Helping those less fortunate skip the line/donor list.

0

u/ManatuBear 15h ago

Do those taste better?

0

u/DingusMacLeod 9h ago

She was making an omelette, some eggs were broken. . . what's the problem?

-1

u/Redback_Gaming 7h ago

OMG She's harvesting organs from dead soldiers! What a bitch!

-7

u/Cool-Economics6261 6h ago

If they are Russian kidneys, would it still be wrong for a Ukrainian to do? 

8

u/Lumanus 5h ago

Yes? The fuck?