You may remember that about a year ago, the world was shocked to learn that a 17-year-old student from Huaishan City, in the Chinese province of Anhui, decided to sell his own kidney for 22,000 yuan (about $3400) so he could purchase an iPad 2. Now that case is in the spotlight again as five people have been charged in China for their participation in this incident.
Reuters reports that according to the Chinese government-run Xinhua News Agency, one of the people charged in this case is the surgeon who actually performed the operation. Yet another person who was charged arranged the operation and then paid the 17-year-old, who was named Wang in today"s article but was called Mr. Zheng a year ago.
The three other people who were charged in the case had shared the rest of the money that the broker received from selling the student"s kidney. Money was also given to the surgeon and other medical staff. None of the people were named in the report.
Unfortunately, the student who had his kidney removed now suffers from renal deficiency, according to the report, and his condition is deteriorating. The story also revealed that the student bought an iPhone with the money received for his kidney in addition to the iPad 2. iPhone prices in China start at 3,988 yuan ($633), while iPads are priced beginning at 2,988 yuan ($474).