organ trade organ trade organ trade (also known as the red market) is the trading of human organs, tissues, or other body products, usually for transplantation. according to the world health organization (who), organ trade is a commercial transplantation where there is a profit, or transplantations that occur outside of national medical systems. there is a global need or demand for healthy body parts for transplantation, which exceeds the numbers available. as of january 2020, there are more than 100,000 candidates waiting for organ transplant in the united states. the median wait time for heart and liver transplants in the u.s. between 2003 and 2014, was approximately 148 days. average time waiting for donor organs varies significantly depending on the patients unos status. patients listed as heart status a1 wait an average of 73 days. there is a worldwide shortage of organs available for transplantation, yet the commercial trade of human organs is illegal in all countries except iran. despite these prohibitions, organ trafficking and transplant tourism remain widespread (however, the data on the extent of the black market trade in organs is difficult to obtain). the question of whether to legalize and regulate the organ trade to combat illegal trafficking and organ shortage is greatly debated. this discussion typically centers on the sale of kidneys by living donors, since human beings are born with two kidneys but need only one to survive. legal organ trade iran