In Nepal’s Hokse, Kavrepalanchok district, the scars on villagers tell a story of survival: kidneys sacrificed to escape debt. In recent decades, nearly a third of the villagers have travelled to India to sell a kidney. Hokse, now known as “Kidney Village”, is defined by such profound poverty that residents’ resort to selling their organs.
The kidney trade began in the early 1990s. Brokers lured men to India with promises of quick money and risk-free labour. “You have two kidneys; you only need one.” Desperation made the pitch convincing.