Published 10 January 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Young man is disabled and bedbound after selling his kidney on the black market to buy an iPhone and iPad
A young man who sold one of his kidneys as a teenager on the black market in order to buy a new iPhone and iPad is now disabled, bedbound and needing constant care, according to recent reports on Chinese media.
The 25-year-old man, known by his surname Wang, had his kidney removed in an underground clinic before selling it on the black market for 22,000 yuan (£2,528) in 2011 when he was just 17 years old.
The teenager wanted an iPhone and iPad desperately in order to prove to his classmates that he was trendy, but his cash-strapped parents could not afford them.
His story shocked the country at the time, leading iPhones to be billed as ‘kidney machines’ by web users.
In order to raise funds for his gadgets, the high school student found three middlemen on a Chinese online chatting platform QQ, who promised to help him realise his dream – but at the cost of one kidney.