Five people in China have been charged with intentional injury after a 17-year-old sold one of his kidneys to pay for an iPad and an iPhone, the government-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
The five included a surgeon who removed the kidney from a 17-year-old boy in April last year. The boy, identified only by his surname Wang, now suffers from renal deficiency, Xinhua quoted prosecutors in Chenzhou city, Hunan province as saying.
According to the Xinhua account, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan (about $35,000) to arrange the transplant.
He paid Wang the teen 22,000 yuan (about $3500) and the rest was split between the defendants and other medical staff. The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney, or what that person's legal situation might be.
The teen was from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, where inhabitants frequently leave to find work and a better life elsewhere. He bought an iPhone and iPad, and when asked by his mother where he got the money, admitted selling a kidney.
Apple products are hugely popular in China, but are priced beyond the reach of many Chinese. The iPhones start at 3,988 yuan ($633), and iPads begin at 2,988 yuan ($474).
Wang's renal deficiency is deteriorating, Xinhua quoted prosecutors as saying.
Xinhua reported that 1.5 million people in China need transplants, according to China's Ministry of Health. It added that only about 10,000 transplants are carried out every year.
China banned the trading of human organs in 2007, Xinhua said.
Several other suspects involved in the case are still being investigated.
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TXT 24
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