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Chinese teenager swaps kidney for iPad
by Dave Parrack
You know Apple fanboyism has reached ridiculous levels when a Chinese teenager thought it would be a good deal to swap one of his kidneys for an iPad 2.
According to The Telegraph, a 17-year-old Chinese teenager known only as Zheng sold one of his kidneys on the black market in order to buy an iPad 2. Goddamn Apple fanboys, theyre everywhere!
Zheng recounted the story to Shenzhen TV in the southern province of Guangdong. He explained:
I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but I didnt have the money. When I surfed the Internet I found an advert posted online by agent saying they were able to pay RMB20,000 [$3,000] to buy a kidney.
Zheng ended up being paid RMB22,000 ($3,400) for his kidney after negotiating with agents and having the operation to remove one of his kidneys in a hospital in the city of Chenzhou in Hunan Province. He used the money to immediately go out and buy an iPad 2 and a new laptop.
The combination of his new purchases and the scar he had on his body aroused the suspicions of his mother. She contacted the police and an investigation was launched. Unfortunately, with one million organ transplants required every year and only 10,000 organs obtained through proper channels, the black market is extensive and well-organized.
Apple products are much in demand in China, being seen as status symbols indicating wealth and class, particularly amongst the young. That desire to fit in by owning the right product to impress your friends obviously isnt limited to China, but selling your organs to pay for those products could well be.
Apart from the levels of Apple fanboyism in China this story suggests exist now, this also raises serious questions over the effect capitalism is having on China and its youngest residents. Thinking its acceptable to sell a body part in order to buy a gadget, a piece of throwaway technology, is surely the ugly side of materialism. I may be knocking a few years off my life but look at the shiny new toy Ive got in exchange!
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