naturalnews.com printable article

Originally published September 17 2015

Chinese man goes missing after agreeing to sell his kidney for an iPhone

by Daniel Barker

(NaturalNews) Apple's new iPhone 6s is among the most coveted consumer tech items on the market, and people are willing to go to great lengths to obtain one. In fact, two men in China reportedly were so enamored of the device that they were willing to go a little further than most folks would consider.

According to the state-owned China Daily newspaper, the two men - one named Wu, the other Huang - wanted an iPhone 6s so badly that they agreed to raise the necessary funds by selling a kidney each.

Organ donation is not a popular practice in China, so there is a brisk market for the sale of kidneys and other body parts.

When Wu told Huang how badly he wanted the new iPhone, the latter suggested the kidney sale and both men agreed to go through with it.

The pair managed to find a salesman on the internet who agreed to handle the deal and instructed them to go to a hospital in Nanjing to undergo testing. When they arrived at the hospital on September 12, the man they had contacted was nowhere to be found.

After further reflection, Wu's better judgment made him decide not to go through with the plan after all and he decided he should also talk Huang out of it.

By this point, Huang was determined to get his iPhone and refused to listen to Wu, who then called the police to try to stop Huang from pursuing the scheme.

Reportedly, Huang then "ran away" and hasn't been heard from since.

Let's hope Huang either still has his kidney or is happy with his new handset.

A less painful alternative

Since this story hit the news, it appears that there have been other instances in China of people selling kidneys and other organs to raise the money to buy iPhones and iPads.

An enterprising Chinese sperm bank has responded by offering cash towards the purchase of iPhone 6s handsets in exchange for a less painful "donation."

It seems that sperm donations are also in short supply in China, and the sperm bank in question, which is located in Hubei province, ran an ad on the messaging app WeChat that reads:

"An iPhone 6S costs at least 5,288 yuan ($830) on the Chinese mainland, and now you can easily own one without having to sell a kidney. Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank wants you to own a 6S."

The promotion, which is cleverly titled "A new plan to buy an iPhone 6S," will pay donors 5,000 yuan for 40 ml of semen along with a 100-yuan subsidy for transportation to the clinic, which is located at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan.

It's unclear who will cover the additional 288 yuan needed for the iPhone. One has to assume that a second donation will be necessary, unless the donor can afford to pay the difference.

Consumerism more important than health?

As amusing as the story is, it's sad and a bit frightening to realize that a smartphone - even a fancy one like the iPhone 6s - would be worth the exchange of a vital organ. It is possible to function with one kidney and it's admirable to be willing to give one up to save a life, but to do it merely to buy a smartphone? This is going a bit far even if you're a tech geek who simply has to have the latest product.

We are moving towards such immersion in the virtual digital environment that the human body has become secondary to being as "connected" as possible to the cyberworld - at least for some of us, anyway.

Personally, I don't even own a smartphone, much less an expensive iPhone. I know I'm probably the last man on Earth who doesn't.

I'm addicted enough to the internet as it is, and I like both of my kidneys, thank you...

Sources include:
Chinadaily.com
Independent.co.uk
Business-Standard.com






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