7 Jailed In 'Kidney For iPad' Case In China 100
hackingbear writes "In China, the whole team of medical staff and their brokers were sentenced to jail yesterday over their involvement in the case of a teenager who sold a kidney to buy an iPhone and iPad. He Wei, who organized the illegal transaction in April 2011, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the Beihu District People's Court in Chenzhou City. The court added that the defendants had paid compensation worth more than 1.47 million yuan (~ US $237,000) to Wang. Ministry of Health statistics show that about 1.5 million people in China need transplants, but only 10,000 operations are performed each year."
Aha (Score:5, Interesting)
But you can donate your kidney...
Sounds like prostitution -- action that is perfectly legal (for free), but cannot be done/sold for money.
Why is it illegal? (Score:2, Interesting)
Once the business of organ farming starts, China is facing an enormous market for healthy, young organs and an aging population that needs them around the world. It's much simpler to simply outlaw, outright, than to start trying to manage and regulate such a business.
Re:Always wondered... (Score:4, Interesting)
"What is the reasoning behind it being illegal to sell your non-vital organs? Is it to prevent people from being coerced into it under the guise of a legitimate transaction?"
Years ago in India when selling kidneys was legal, many people actually were coerced into selling their kidneys. Sometimes the coercion was by family members, other times by the kidney brokers who would get a cut of the transaction.
This particular case is aggravated by the age of the donor (seller), a 17 year old minor.
"Always wondered why this was the case. You'd think if this venue was opened up, there would be more organs going where they are needed without requiring the donor first have a nasty case of death."
Or it could actually decrease the available supply if people who would have otherwise donated out of kindness start demanding more and more money, making the transplants more unaffordable. And some people staying out of it altogether because they're disgusted with the coercion and corruption.