Young Chinese sold kidney to buy iPhone and iPad

A 17-year-old Chinese boy sold one of his kidneys for $ 3, 500 on the black market and, with the money, bought an iPhone and an iPad. The boy's mother only discovered the case when Wang came home with the products, claiming to have bought the devices with his own money.

The organ was reportedly removed in April last year and five people involved in the procedure, including the surgeon who removed the kidney, were arrested. The boy would have been persuaded to make the transaction in a chat room. Although it received only $ 3, 500, the group reportedly resold the kidney for about $ 35, 000.

Most surprisingly, if the case had taken place before 2007, it would not have been considered a crime, since only five years ago the country banned the trade in human organs. Today, Wang suffers from kidney failure and will need a transplant to be healthy as he once was.

Official data from the Ministry of Health indicate that 1.5 million people need transplants in China, but the country performs only 10, 000 surgeries like this per year. Because of this, the country's black organ market is large and executed prisoners were often used as a source of organs. Only last month did the Chinese government promise to end the practice in the next five years.