16 Chinese charged with selling over 50 kidneys

Beijing, Dec 13 (IANS) A total of 16 Chinese suspects have been charged with selling at least 51 kidneys in nine months and earning $1.65 million.

The suspects were presented at the Haidian district people’s court in Beijing, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.

One doctor, involved in what could be the country’s largest organ trade, died before the trial.

Zheng Wei, the chief suspect, and four surgeons allegedly performed kidney removal surgeries in a rural clinic in Jiangsu province and in a house in Beijing in 2010. They sold 51 kidneys to uremia patients.

Most of the suspects admitted their crimes but the doctors said they were cheated by Zheng and thought they were cooperating with a Beijing hospital for kidney transplant.

Zheng looked for organ donors on the internet, and the profit was very high, up to 10,000 yuan per case, prosecutors said.

Zheng allegedly paid donors 25,000 yuan for one kidney and sold them for 220,000 yuan each to patients.

IANS 2012-12-13 20:48:07