Early in the spring semester, Schar School of Policy and Government associate professor and director of research Naoru Koizumi traveled to Bangladesh to continue research on organ sales and trafficking, specifically kidney harvesting.
The National Science Foundation project began earlier in the year when she and Schar School associate professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera conducted a research trip to study organ trafficking in Costa Rica. The professors are part of a team that includes social scientists, data scientists, medical specialists, and government officials.
The two locales—Bangladesh and Costa Rica—are considered network hubs for illicit organ buying and selling, where kidneys can fetch $2,000 to more than $20,000 on the black market. The National Science Foundation and Schar School joint study will consider possible methods of disruption of this transnational crime.