The Independent reports on the story in Chinese-state newspaper China Daily today. Two men from Yangzhou in the Jiangsu province contacted an illegal organ donor agent online to facilitate the deal. Known as Wu and Huang, they wanted to buy a new iPhone 6S but, like many others, simply couldn’t afford the high price tag. Huang suggested they each sell a kidney to make the purchase possible.
After contacting the agent, they agreed to go to a hospital in Nanjing for medical examinations on September 12. After waiting around for a while, the pair realised the agent wasn’t going to show up and so returned home.
Overnight, Wu decided his body could be worth more than Apple’s latest smartphone and opted against selling his kidney after all. His attempts to persuade Huang to do likewise dramatically failed though.
Huang refused to listen to Wu and remained adamant that he would buy an iPhone by selling his kidney. As Wu went to the police to notify them of the shady proceedings, Huang ran away and has not been seen since. His current location is still unknown, as is the status of the deal with the agent.
Apple devices have proven to be exceptionally popular with Chinese consumers, making them some of the most attractive products to own in the country. Although home-grown rivals like Xiaomi continue to dominate the market, many people still aspire to being able to afford a new iPhone or iPad.
iPhone 6S pre-orders are “exceptionally strong” according to Apple, and should easily beat the iPhone 6’s first weekend sales record. This is due in part to the Chinese market as last year the country was not a launch location for the iPhone 6.
It appears some people may be doing a bit too much to get their hands on the prestigious devices though. People frequently joke about selling a kidney to buy a pricey item but actually putting that notion into action by contacting an illegal agent online is not usually a step that is reached, although similar incidents have occurred in the past in China.
The International Business Times recalls the arrest of five people in 2012 who were illegally trading kidneys. One 17-year-old sold one of his kidneys for $3,000 (£1,945), using the money to buy an iPhone and iPad. In another case, a couple made $13,000 from the alleged sale of three babies, also using part of the money to buy Apple products.
