An Iran International examination of more than 600 advertisements posted on a Telegram channel between late May and late October found that roughly one in three offered more than one organ or tissue.
One man who advertised several parts of his body, including a testicle, told Iran International: “I can still live after losing these organs.” He appeared unaware that some of the procedures he was proposing were not established transplant options in Iran.
Kidneys remained the most frequently advertised organ, appearing in 498 advertisements. But bone marrow was mentioned in 279, liver in 51, testicles in 15 and corneas in two.
In 142 advertisements, kidneys and bone marrow were offered together, while another 26 listed kidneys, bone marrow and liver. In 110 advertisements, kidneys were not mentioned at all, with sellers offering only other organs or tissues.
Prospective sellers interviewed by Iran International described financial pressures ranging from bankruptcy and mounting debts to the struggle to provide for their children.
One man said he was prepared to give up even vital organs to secure the financial future of his young daughter.
Another, who previously owned a clothing business, said he had accumulated debts and bounced checks after going bankrupt. Unable to meet his financial obligations, he hoped selling an organ would allow him to repay at least some of what he owed.
A third man, exhausted by years of renting and moving between homes, hoped the proceeds would enable him to buy a property of his own.
A woman raising two daughters on her own said she was looking for a buyer simply to cover her family’s everyday expenses.
Year-on-year inflation reached nearly 89 percent in October, further eroding household incomes and pushing up the cost of housing and basic necessities.
A 2024 academic study of 215 people in Tehran’s kidney market found that approximately 83 percent had entered the market to meet longer-term financial needs, including repaying debts and purchasing durable goods. Nearly three-quarters were renters.
The amounts sought by prospective sellers have also risen dramatically over the past decade, although advertised prices do not necessarily reflect completed transactions.
In 2016, kidneys were commonly advertised for around 20 million to 30 million tomans. By 2020, media reports cited asking prices of 100 million to 150 million tomans, rising to 150 million to 200 million tomans in 2021.
Some advertisements examined in the latest investigation listed kidneys for as much as 30 billion tomans, around 1,000 times the upper end of the asking-price range reported a decade earlier.
Asking prices for liver also reached 30 billion tomans, while bone marrow was advertised for up to 23 billion and testicles for up to 10 billion tomans. Sellers offering corneas generally said prices would be negotiated.
There is no evidence that transactions were completed at these prices, or that prospective sellers received the amounts they requested. Medical expenses and subsequent care could also reduce any proceeds.
Not everything being advertised, however, can be transplanted from a living donor.
Living donors can donate a kidney or part of their liver, although both procedures carry health risks, particularly the more extensive surgery required for liver donation.
Bone marrow donation involves collecting blood-forming stem cells rather than removing an entire organ. Corneas are ordinarily obtained from deceased donors, while the investigation found no evidence of an established procedure in Iran for transplanting testicles purchased from living sellers.
The investigation also found that prospective sellers may be charged simply to advertise their organs or reach potential buyers.
The administrator of one Telegram channel asked an Iran International investigator for 200,000 tomans to publish an organ-sale advertisement.
For an additional 400,000 tomans, the administrator offered to circulate the seller’s details through what he described as an association connecting prospective donors with patients awaiting transplants in hospitals.
The combined fee of 600,000 tomans was payable before any buyer had been found. The administrator provided a bank card number for payment.
Iranian media have previously reported that some Telegram intermediaries demand around four million tomans to register prospective sellers and help them find buyers. Some sellers, meanwhile, seek out brokers who claim they can secure higher prices for their organs.
The investigation did not establish whether these intermediaries successfully arranged transplants or whether their advertised services were genuine.
For the people interviewed by Iran International, selling an organ represented a possible escape from debts, insecure housing or the struggle to provide for their families—even though none could be certain of finding a buyer, receiving the money they sought or escaping the hardship that drove them to advertise.