by Staff writer
A Chinese teenage boy who sold his kidney on the black market to buy an iPhone is now bedridden for life, news.com.au reports.
According to the report, Wang Shangkun was 17 years old when decided to sell his kidney and buy the latest iPhone.
Shortly after the illegal surgery, he began suffering from a decreased level of kidney function.
Eight years on, the 25-year-old is now bedridden for life after his remaining organ failed.
At the time he sold his kidney to black market organ harvesters in April 2011, Mr. Shangkun received about AUD$4500 — which he used to purchase an iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
“Why do I need a second kidney? One is enough,” he was reported saying at the time.
Mr. Wang now spends his days in bed and relies on dialysis to survive his kidney failure, local Chinese media recently revealed.
The illegal surgery had caused him to develop renal deficiency which is believed to have led to an infection due to the unsanitary setting of where it took place and the apparent lack of post-operative care, Mirror UK reported.
The operation occurred in the central province of Hunan without his parents’ consent. It was reportedly undertaken by two doctors who were also employed at local hospitals.
At the time Chinese newspaper Xinhua reported that Wang first made contact with the alleged harvesters through internet chat rooms.
Mr. Wang allegedly sought the new iPhone in order to show off to his friends.
His family lived in one of China’s poorest provinces and could not afford it, so he turned to other means to raise the money.
Speaking to CNTV.com, Wang said: “At the time, I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didn’t have any money.”
“When I was on the internet, I had a kidney agent send a message, saying that selling a kidney can give me 20,000.”
Wang received the equivalent of about $A3,500 for his kidney at the time. The rest of the money was divided up among the gang.
