A new study from the University of Leeds encourages worldwide cooperation to stop rampant and illegal organ trafficking.

Ana Manzano, one of the researchers, said nobody knows the number of organs being traded across countries.

Aside from determining the number of traded organs, governments worldwide should take firm action against traffickers because organ trafficking can cause death among donors, she explained.

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She said the World Health Organization has identified the UK as a buyer country of human organs. Despite this, people in the UK aren't aware of the damage caused by organ trafficking.

Manzano said one of the reasons authorities find it difficult to determine the extent of damage is because organ donors are reluctant to talk because they fear prosecution.

Organ trafficking occurs in different countries, making it hard to trace the origins of the trafficked organs.

There are also insurers that took part in the proliferation of organ trafficking by paying for follow-up treatment to transplant patients, she added.

There are no established and consistent laws on prosecuting surgeons that perform illegal transplants. Manzano said these factors help create a practice of "organ laundering" in which the illegal purchase of organs somehow becomes a legal transaction.

Manzano warned authorities that if they don't do something about this problem there will be terrible consequences for both the donor and recipient.