Chinese state media say the authorities have arrested five people in southern China after a teenager sold his kidney so he could buy an iPhone and iPad.
China's official Xinhua news agency said prosecutors in the city of Chenzhou charged the suspects over the illegal removal and transplant of a kidney from a 17-year-old high-school student.
Only identified by his surname, Wang, the teenager is said to have received about $3,000 for his kidney.
Xinhua said those detained included a surgeon, who reportedly removed the teenager's kidney in April 2011.
Xinhua says some 1.5 million people in China need transplants, but that only around 10,000 transplants are performed each year, fueling the illegal trade of organs.
China's official Xinhua news agency said prosecutors in the city of Chenzhou charged the suspects over the illegal removal and transplant of a kidney from a 17-year-old high-school student.
Only identified by his surname, Wang, the teenager is said to have received about $3,000 for his kidney.
Xinhua said those detained included a surgeon, who reportedly removed the teenager's kidney in April 2011.
Xinhua says some 1.5 million people in China need transplants, but that only around 10,000 transplants are performed each year, fueling the illegal trade of organs.
