Nepal villagers duped into selling kidneys and told organ would regrow – now country faces new health crisis
In the foothills of the Himalayas, two men lift their shirts to reveal wide scars on their bodies.
Both aged in their 40s, they appear self-conscious – even embarrassed – but they want to share their story.
The men – called Kanchha and Ram – sold their kidneys, driven by financial desperation. Kanchha is still in pain and unable to work because of the side effects from the surgery.
“It’s impossible to count how many have done it,” he says. “Everywhere, this village, that village, so many people have sold their kidneys.”
Ram and Kanchha show their scars
The tell-tale scar, evidence of kidney removal
The village of Hokse in Nepal has a unique and exceptionally troubled history. It’s known as Kidney Valley because someone from almost every household has sold a kidney.
Brokers have been visiting the area for years, persuading people to part with an organ, despite the fact it’s illegal.
Locals have desperately tried to shake that infamy in recent years – they feel duped, damaged by it. Some say they were exploited, some claim they were even told their kidneys would regrow. Some have died as a result of what was done to their bodies.
And now tragically, poverty is fuelling another health crisis in Nepal – with kidneys again at the heart of it.
The village of Hokse in Nepal is known as Kidney Valley
Increasing numbers of Nepalis have chosen to work overseas in the Gulf States and Malaysia to make more money for their families back home. But that’s come with its own jeopardy.
Young, once healthy men are returning to Nepal in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Some scientists say it is the result of exposure to extreme heat and severe dehydration.
Suman showed Sky News his scar
A few years ago, Suman, 31, was so broken financially and emotionally, he considered ending his life. He felt he had “no option” but to travel to India to sell his kidney to a woman pretending to be his sister.
It was a physically excoriating process that has scarred him. He was paid £3,000.
“I felt weak and I lost consciousness,” he says. “When I woke up, it was really hurting. Now I can’t work and I try to tell anyone I can, not to sell their kidney.”
Suman speaks to Sky News
Sky News visited the village of Hokse
Suman was not certain if the doctor knew what he was doing but Indian law is clear – donors must be related and they must present the relevant paperwork.
Organ trafficking remains a major concern in India. It is fuelled by a wide gap in demand and supply.
The lack of donors has given rise to a black market, with doctors and hospitals among those exposed in investigations into “cash for kidney” rackets.
But it is not unique to India. Estimates suggest that globally, one in 10 transplanted organs have been trafficked.
“The agents made fake documents in Kathmandu, including Indian ID cards,” says Kanchha, who also sold his kidney in India.
“My kidney was given to a fake sister. I think the doctor in India knew I’d sold it.”
In Hokse, locals insist no-one sells their kidneys any more – but some are still taking extreme risks to try to improve their lives.
Jit Bahadur Gurung has dialysis three times a week
Jit Bahadur Gurung spent three years working in Saudi Arabia. Aged just 29, he’s had four hours of dialysis – which he does three times a week – at the National Kidney Center in Kathmandu.
He looks fatigued and withdrawn.
“I had to work in extreme heat – around 50 degrees,” he says. “We didn’t have time to have lunch, go to the toilet or drink water.”
Describing the moment he realised something was wrong, he says: “I was overheating. Suddenly I felt my feet swelling and I couldn’t walk. Then I was told my kidney had failed.”
People have been left needing dialysis
On the dialysis ward
Symptoms of kidney failure can often go unnoticed and by the time migrant workers arrive back in Nepal, it’s often too late.
Jit is desperate for a donor. But the donor has to be a relative and there aren’t enough positive matches.
Ishwor is 34 and still searching for his lifeline. He says he worked 16-hour days for seven years in Dubai.
“I was working long hours in high heat without sleep,” he says. “My body started to swell up like I’d been beaten.”
Symptoms of kidney failure can go unnoticed
Dr Pukar Shresth, a pioneering and renowned surgeon at the Human Organ Transplant Center in Nepal, used to only perform transplants on the elderly, but has recently seen young people with scarred and shrunken kidneys.
He noticed a pattern – young men going to work in high heat, with little water and returning with “completely failed kidneys”.
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“It is very grave because about one third of all transplants are these labour migrant workers who have come from abroad,” he says.
“This has caused a huge burden to our health resources health facility because they account for more than 30% of the total transplant number in our country.”
It’s a disproportionate figure since overseas workers represent around 14% of the Nepali population.
Dr Shrestha believes education is key – informing young men going overseas about the importance of having water, taking breaks and a good diet.
Young men are returning with damaged kidneys
A young doctor working alongside him is collecting critical data about where the men have been and what conditions they faced. The men have to have medical tests before they can travel abroad for work, which is why it’s believed they were in good health previously.
The fact is they feel forced to work in some of the world’s hottest places and they have very little agency.
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While some countries like Qatar have reduced the hours people can work in the sun, Nepalis’ suffering hasn’t stopped.
Multiple studies have shown the risk of extreme heat in the Gulf States has only escalated in recent years due to climate change.
And a recent report by Human Rights Watch stated migrant workers are mistreated and viewed as “disposable”.
The hospitals of Nepal are a stark warning shot about the dangers of a warming world and the heavy price being paid by those at the coalface.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
Additional reporting by Rachael Thorn, Asia producer
World
European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia
Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.
The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Follow latest updates on the Ukraine war
Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.
Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
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The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.
But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.
They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.
This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.
World
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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What are the conclave’s secrecy measures?
Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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Moment new pope emerges on balcony
An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
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