News / International
Five charged for enabling teenager to sell his kidney to buy an iPad
07 Apr 2012 at 05:20hrs | Views
A Chinese court has charged five people for enabling a teenager to sell his kidney to buy an iPad and iPhone.
The 17-year-old boy's kidney was removed last year, according to the Chinese government-run Xinhua news agency, leaving him with renal deficiency.
Five people, including the surgeon who performed the operation, have now been charged with intentional injury.
The boy, who is identified only by his surname Wang, received 22,000 yuan ($3,500) for the kidney, while the rest was split with the surgeon, three other defendants and medical staff.
It has not been revealed who paid for the kidney, but the report acknowledged that Wang received only around ten per cent of its total black market value.
he teen, who hails originally from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, then used the money to buy an iPhone and iPad.
After returning home with such expensive gadgets he admitted to his mother that he had only been able to pay for them thanks to selling his kidney.
The case is still being investigated, with other suspects being interviewed.
However, commentators worry that the teen's tale is only a small example of 'transplant tourism', where human organs are being sold on the black market for increasingly high prices
The 17-year-old boy's kidney was removed last year, according to the Chinese government-run Xinhua news agency, leaving him with renal deficiency.
Five people, including the surgeon who performed the operation, have now been charged with intentional injury.
The boy, who is identified only by his surname Wang, received 22,000 yuan ($3,500) for the kidney, while the rest was split with the surgeon, three other defendants and medical staff.
he teen, who hails originally from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, then used the money to buy an iPhone and iPad.
After returning home with such expensive gadgets he admitted to his mother that he had only been able to pay for them thanks to selling his kidney.
The case is still being investigated, with other suspects being interviewed.
However, commentators worry that the teen's tale is only a small example of 'transplant tourism', where human organs are being sold on the black market for increasingly high prices
Source - Xinhua
