With the news of Boston University, Wellesley College, and Tufts raising undergraduate costs to surpass $90,000 a year, and increasing pressures to stand out in the admissions process, high school students across the nation have started to work crime into their extracurricular schedules.
Even in wealthy suburbs, such as Wellesley, interest in illicit fundraising has gained traction. According to research conducted by the FBI, beginning last fall, there was a 512 percent increase in Google searches for the term “get rich quick black market.”
“What we’ve really been seeing is a ton of kids getting involved with local crime syndicates that sell, if you can believe it, kidneys, among other body parts,” said Chief Evangelista Boor, head of the Wellesley Police Department.
The Boston area, known for its prolific medical industry, is in desperate need of organs for patients on the transplant list. This shortage leaves many in medical limbo.
Backroom deals for organs in exchange for cash have been uncovered at several major hospitals in New England, with some deals topping a quarter of a million dollars.
“It’s the perfect storm. Patients need a kidney, parents have the medical expertise, and there’s a middleman willing to take the cooler and get a cut of the cash. Also, every kid had two kidneys. That’s a screaming deal to parents who are worried about covering the unfathomable costs of higher education,” said Ji-Ho Young, an employee at the FBI Boston Field Office.
While the investigation may shock many, students at the high school find it unsurprising and a welcome opportunity to apply skills outside the classroom.
After sports and jobs, pre-medical summer programs are the most popular extracurricular for students hoping to gain an edge in the admissions process. These programs offer instruction in suturing, scalpel handling, and bandaging, all skills that students admit to applying in this new scheme.
“The program I attended last year gave me a free suturing kit, and along with the human anatomy poster that I got when I signed up, it’s been super helpful in getting me on the right track with what I’m doing in my free time,” said Imogene Talar ’27.
In an undercover sting operation, the FBI traced a kidney from a student aiming to increase her 529 plan contribution to the abdomen of a middle-aged man at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“I was in danger of not meeting the volunteer hour requirement for the honor society, and if I didn’t get those hours, I wouldn’t get a golden tassel at graduation. Plus, I’d have to alert Penn State, and they might rescind my acceptance,” said Ryan Hamn ’24.
When Hamn brought up this issue at the dinner table, his mother, a local surgeon, decided to step in. She suggested her son look for classmates interested in making an investment in their future. Hamn’s mother offered up life-support equipment, sterile instruments, and the basement ping-pong table for her son to take a hands-on approach to serving the community.
“The decision to sell my kidney was a no-brainer. I’m looking at Amherst College, and my dads said the price was just too high for us to afford. I heard Ryan was looking for a donor, so I reached out,” said Lola Jamil ’25.
After Hamn and his mother extracted Jamil’s left kidney, they sutured the wound site and took Jamil through the Dunkin’ drive-through on the ride home to show their thanks.
After being put on ice, the kidney was dropped off behind the Qdoba restaurant in Wellesley for pickup by the middleman, George O’Malley.
“I’ve always been sort of involved in unsavory business, some might say, but I feel like this new job is a step in the right direction. I’m helping kids, helping families, and helping those in need. Plus, I make a pretty penny,” said O’Malley.
Once the cooler arrived at the hospital, the employee who ordered the shipment accepted the package and brought it into the operating theater. A second employee handed over the payment to O’Malley, who waited outside, chatting with the receptionist.
O’Malley took his cut, paid Hamn’s mother, and then left the payment for Jamil in the student parking lot on the windshield of her car.
“I came out to my car after a really bad day and found my payment. It made me so happy to know I can help my dads pay for my education,” said Jamil, her posture still slightly slouched to accommodate for the bandage encircling her abdomen.
While Jamil rushed home to tell her parents the good news, the organ began its journey into the body of Diego Nguyen, an elderly Newton resident whose long struggle with kidney disease had him on the transplant list for eleven years.
When asked about his thoughts on the criminal nature of these students’ actions, Nguyen felt that the benefits outweighed the potential penalties of fifteen years in state prison and fines up to $50,000.
“It raises my spirits to know that enterprising young people are finding new ways to apply themselves and make their education happen. For old guys like me, seeing kids pull themselves up by their bootstraps really warms my heart,” said Nguyen.