A 17-year-old boy wanted an iPad 2 so badly that he reportedly sold one of his kidneys for €2,252 in order to buy the tablet computer.
“I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didn’t have the money,” the boy, identified only as Zheng, told Shenzhen TV in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.
Zheng had been browsing the internet when he came across an advertisement that offered cash to organ donors, The Daily Telegraph reported.
After talking to agents, Zheng then travelled north to the city of Chenzhou, where Zheng’s kidney was removed at a local hospital.
Zheng’s mother knew something was up when he arrived home.
“When he came back, he had a laptop and a new Apple handset,” his mom told the station, and she revealed the red scar on her son.
“I wanted to know how he had got so much money and he finally confessed that he had sold one of his kidneys.”
Zheng’s mother hauled him back to Chenzhou and contacted the police in the city.
So far, reportedly little progress has been made in tracking down the agents Zheng had been in touch with about the organ donation. Three agents’ mobile phone numbers had been switched off, and the hospital that performed Zheng’s surgery denied any knowledge of the procedure yet admitted contracting out its urology department to a private businessman.
