Ayesha Noor
What is a Placenta and Why is it Special?
The placenta is a temporary organ that grows inside a mother’s womb only during pregnancy. It connects the baby to the mother through the umbilical cord and acts as a vital lifeline. For nine months, it does the work of multiple organs. It delivers oxygen and nutrients to the baby while filtering out harmful waste.
After the baby is born, the mother’s body pushes the placenta out. This is called the “afterbirth.”
To doctors and nurses, the placenta is usually treated as medical waste that needs to be thrown away safely. But to a mother, it is a deeply personal organ that protects and nourishes her child. Unfortunately, this mix of emotional value and biological power has created a dark, illegal business.
How Placentas Are Being Misused
Recently, two major law enforcement agencies in Pakistan, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA), uncovered a shocking trade. Hospitals are currently buying human placenta from local hospitals for as little as eight hundred rupees each.
Groups were quietly collecting these placentas. Instead of being disposed of safely or given back to families, they were stored, frozen, and prepared to be smuggled out of the country.
When the smugglers were caught, they first lied and said the packages contained “sheep placenta” meant for beauty products. Eventually, they admitted the truth: it was human tissue.
Placentas are rich in proteins, collagen, growth factors, and stem cells. Overseas, cosmetic brands use them in anti-aging creams, pharmaceutical companies use them to create experimental medicines, and some cultures use them in traditional remedies or even consume them.
In Pakistan, buying and selling any human organ or tissue is strictly illegal under the Human Organs and Tissues Transplantation Act, 2010. Yet, because many hospitals do not monitor their waste closely enough, this illegal trade managed to operate in the shadows.
The Government Crackdown [FIR No. FIR-CCC-ICT-6/26, Dated 24-Jun-2026]
FIA and HOTA officers raided a hidden facility at House No. 4-A, Street No. 32, Sector F-7/1, Islamabad, and later another location in Sector E-11, Islamabad, on June 24, 2026, at 01:00 AM.
The raid led to a criminal case registered under Sections 11 and 12 of the HOTA Act 2010, read with Sections 420, 34, and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. These sections make the buying, selling, collection, and smuggling of human placenta a punishable offence in Pakistan.
The first suspects apprehended included three Chinese nationals and two Pakistani nationals. During investigation, three more people were taken into custody. The operation was led by Assistant Director Umer Arsalan of the FIA Corporate Crime Circle.
On the direction of Administrator HOTA, the case was led by Mr’s Hina Kanwal Monitoring Officer and Mr Sardar Adil Audit Officer.
Hina Kanwal’s Statement
According to Hina Kanwal, MO/AAO Administration HOTA Islamabad and the official complainant in the FIR, she was monitoring the case .She confirmed the details of the raid and explained that the suspects tried to hide where the tissue came from, but finally confessed it was human placenta meant for smuggling abroad.
Monitoring Officer Hina Kanwal added that samples have been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) in Lahore for DNA testing.
Why It Matters
This investigation forces us to ask tough questions about a mother’s rights and hospital security.
Who owns the placenta? Legally, it belongs to the mother. Hospitals should require clear, written consent forms asking mothers if they want the placenta returned to them for cultural or religious burials, or if they want the hospital to incinerate it safely.
Medical waste should never be accessible to unauthorized buyers. Hospitals must implement strict tracking systems so that every placenta is accounted for from the delivery room to the incinerator.
Laws like HOTA were written to protect human bodies from being bought and sold like products. This case proves that laws are only as good as their enforcement. Until the final forensic report comes out, the investigation continues. But it has already exposed a dark trade where a sacred part of childbirth was traded for quick cash.
