For about as long as I can remember, I’ve joked about being willing to exchange a kidney for certain material items, and, perhaps, items of the flesh. “Oh, I’d give a kidney to have a chance to bone Mrs. Garrett from ‘Facts of Life.'” Etc. You get my drift. But it never really dawned on me that there might be some people out there willing to go to such extremes in order to obtain cherished goods, like iPads.
Reports the Telegraph:
The 17-year-old boy, identified only by his surname, “Zheng”, confessed to his mother that he had sold the kidney after spotting an online advertisement offering cash to anyone prepared to become an organ donor.
“I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didn’t have the money,” the boy told Shenzhen TV in the southern province of Guangdong, “When I surfed the internet I found an advert posted online by agent saying they were able to pay RMB20,000 to buy a kidney.” After negotiations, the boy travelled north to the city of Chenzhou in Hunan Province where the kidney was removed at a local hospital which discharged him after three days, paying a total of RMB22,000 for the organ.
Even better: The kid made so much bank selling his kidney that he had a few bucks left over to purchase a few other Apple products. HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL, STEVE JOBS?!
(HT: The Atlantic Wire. Pic via)
