A teenager who decided to sell one of his kidneys so that he could buy an iPhone was left bedbound and disabled following the procedure. Wang Shangkun was 17 when he decided to sell his organ on the black market for the equivalent of $3,200. Being from one of China’s poorest provinces, he was desperate for an iPad but knew he would never be able to afford it. However, when an organ harvester messaged him online with the cash offer, he thought his luck was in.
- He had no idea where his kidney was going. According to VICE, Shangkun told China Network Television that he had surgery somewhere in Hunan Province to remove his right kidney. He was never told who the recipient of the organ would be, but the surgery was said to have been performed by two doctors who were employed in local hospitals.
- Shangkun thought living with one kidney would be no big deal. Shangkun admitted that he thought “one was enough” when it came to his kidneys and that he didn’t need a second one. Plus, he finally had enough money to buy both an iPhone 4 and an iPad 2, so he thought life was great for a while.
- His mother was horrified when she realized what he’d done. Shangkun tried to hide the procedure from his mother, but she eventually grew suspicious of his behavior and made him fess up. “When my son came home he had a laptop computer and an Apple phone. I asked him where all the money for that came from. When he couldn’t keep it to himself any longer he finally told us. He said, ‘Mum, I sold my kidney.’ When he told me I felt like the sky was crashing down on our family,” his mother said, according to BBC News.
- The surgery led to the arrest of nine people. As you can probably imagine, it’s entirely illegal to offer people money in exchange for their organs, and after Shangkun’s story came to light, nine people were arrested. Five of them have since been charged with organ trading and intentional injury. NPR reports that some of those charged included the broker, the surgeon, the person who rented the operating room, and those who scouted potential organ sellers.
- Sadly, Shangkun got seriously ill after the operation. While he’s now in his mid-20s, his health took a nosedive following the operation. Because of the unhygienic conditions of the operating room as well as the lack of postoperative care, Shangkun developed an infection in his remaining kidney and developed renal deficiency, leaving him bedridden. Because of this, he now has to have dialysis every day to clean his blood.
- Shangkun’s family was given financial compensation for his ordeal. The family is said to have received roughly $300,000 in compensation for what Shangkun experienced, but something tells me he probably wishes he had kept both his kidneys.
