S. African hospital charged in organ trafficking

[September 16, 2010]  JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Prosecutors have charged a major South African hospital chain and its chief executive in connection with international human organ trafficking.

In a statement Thursday, Netcare's board of directors denied the charges laid a day earlier against the hospital chain and its CEO, Dr. Richard Friedland.

The case first became known in 2003. Investigators said Brazilians and eastern Europeans were flown to South Africa, where their kidneys were extracted at a Durban hospital for transplants into Israeli patients.

Netcare's board says, "Neither Netcare nor Dr. Friedland are guilty of any wrongdoing."

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.