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It's one thing to wait in line forever just to get your hands on Apple's latest and greatest. It's a whole different story to sell your own kidney so you can afford them.
A 17-year-old boy in the Anhui province in China sold his kidney for 22,000 yuan ($3,400), so that he could then go out and purchase an iPad 2. He got the idea from an online advertisement offering cash to anyone prepared to become an organ donor, according to The Telegraph. He has expressed regret over his actions, saying his health had deteriorated ever since his kidney was removed.
"I wanted to buy an iPad 2 but could not afford it," the boy surnamed Zheng told Shenzhen TV. "A broker contacted me on the Internet and said he could help me sell one kidney for 20,000 yuan." Trading organs online is a common practice in China, despite the Chinese government's attempts to stamp out the practice.
The child and broker arranged the procedure without his parents knowing, and he underwent surgery at a Chenzhou hospital in the neighboring Hunan province. His mother forced him to explain how he was able to afford the Apple products (multiple reports said he bought more than one) when he returned home with three days later, and she notified the police immediately. They have been unable to contact the three men as all their mobile phones were turned off.
"When he came back, he had a laptop and a new Apple handset," his mother said. "I wanted to know how he had got so much money and he finally confessed that he had sold one of his kidneys."
To make matters worse, it turns out that the hospital at which the surgery took place was not qualified to perform the procedure. The administration claims it was not aware of what was happening because the urology department that performed the surgery was contracted to a Fujian businessman.
Last month, we reported how Apple is similar to a religion. UK neuroscientists found that Apple imagery activates the same parts of the brain in Apple fanboys that religious imagery does in followers of that religion.
User Comments: 37
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the kid will commit suicide once the new ipad comes out, 0.00000001% faster.......
and i thought this cartoon was a bit far fetched : http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple
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Okay, okay,....I admit it. I bought the kidney! I heard that they made good stuff over there.
Nice try! Did you ever notice how Steve Jobs' health waxes and wanes. Well this story is a plausible explanation for that.
Everybody says that Apple's prices are too high, and I fear that this may embolden them much further.
The only thing that would have made this story better, would be too have had the iPad 3 announced on the day of the operation.
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Next year he may sells his iPad for a brand new kidney....
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WOW! How did he pull this off?! My mother-in-law donated a kidney to my father-in-law (for real), and there is a LOT of recovery when you lose a kidney. She was quite sick for a long time, your body doesn't respond too well for a while to losing a kidney. She's fine now, but it took a while. He must not see his mother too often.
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Next year he may sells his iPad for a brand new kidney....
iPad depreciation will most likely mean that the kid will have to settle for a "refurbished" kidney (maybe already seen a few owners) sold "as is" on eBay...at least I hope he opts for priority shipping over flat rate standard parcel rate.
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The police can only catch the perpetrators if their mobiles are switched on!
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He sure is lucky! I heard the iPad 2 costs an arm and a leg these days!
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China is a huge, wholly corrupt country run by a huge, wholly corrupt regime. There really is little or no law enforcement there, except when an "embarrassment" occurs. When something like this happens, many people are made scapegoats but because the corruption is so pervasive they typically have no chance to defend themselves against those who framed them. Chances are, someone at that hospital has already paid off an official somewhere, someplace, to just forget about the illegal procedures. In fact, it is a foregone conclusion.
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By the way Guest what make you assume that other governments aren't 'wholly corrupt' and not run by corrupt regimes? From politicians election campaigns to cabinet appointments all the decisions are based on 'wishes' of 'their masters'.
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By the way Guest what make you assume that other governments aren't 'wholly corrupt' and not run by corrupt regimes? From politicians election campaigns to cabinet appointments all the decisions are based on 'wishes' of 'their masters'.Oh well, maybe the kid will grow another. After all, "there's an app for that! There isn't....whoops..
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Oh well, maybe the kid will grow another. After all, "there's an app for that! There isn't....whoops..
It's a pity the kid went with Apple. At least with a PC he'd be able to run this. Once his friends/family had maxed it out, he's only some Rohypnol and a gullible tourist away from unlocking the "kidney recovered achievement".
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It's a pity the kid went with Apple. At least with a PC he'd be able to run this. Once his friends/family had maxed it out, he's only some Rohypnol and a gullible tourist away from unlocking the "kidney recovered achievement".God how I miss Methaqualone. Forgive me for waxing nostalgic, and off topic, no less....
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