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October 12, 2008 10:40:51 AM CDT

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Poor Pakistanis Sell Kidneys to Rich Foreigners

Posted Aug 26, 07 2:41 PM CDT in World,  Business,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – In the village of Sultanpur More, Pakistan, hundreds of people have long purple scars in their sides from selling their kidneys—for as little as $1,700—to pay off debts and to make dowry payments, the Chicago Tribune reports.  There are only a few countries that don't prohibit organ sales, and business here has increased since China banned them last year.

The death and complication rates from kidney extraction are high, and the "kidney mafia"—corrupt doctors, officials and middlemen—often cheats donors or steals organs outright.  Still the practice continues.  Said one man in the village, "When you have nothing, when you live like slaves, you want some kind of life, even at the cost of a kidney."

Source Chicago Tribune

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Anatomical illustration of kidneys in human body   (Shutterstock)
The Cruellest Cut - Pakistan's Kidney Mafia   (journeymanpictures (YouTube))
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Pakistan  • poverty  • organ donor  • transplant  • organ harvesting  • kidney transplant  • kidney  • organ selling


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