Chinese Teen Sells Kidney For iPad And iPhone

April 8 2012, Published 3:00 p.m. ET

Some people will do anything to get the latest gadget. In China a teenage boy went to the extreme and sold one of his kidneys so he could buy an iPad and an iPhone.

The 17-year-old's parents became suspicious when he came home with the costly gadgets, AP reports. Asked how he could afford them, he confessed he'd sold one of his kidneys for $3,500 so he could buy them.

Five people have since been arrested for helping him to illegally sell the kidney. One of the defendants allegedly received $35,000 after looking for organ donors online and allegedly arranging the deal. He gave the teen $3,500 as his cut of the deal.

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Outraged critics say the young people in China are so obsessed with luxury goods they will risk life and limb to get it.

In an editorial in the official Communist Party newspaper last month a writer said: “Without facing complete hardship, these young people born after the 1990s made rash decisions.”

The problem is compounded by the fact that there are an estimated 1.5 million patients awaiting organ transplants in China, and only about 10,000 such surgeries are performed each year. That's fueling the market for illegally obtained organs by people desperate for a life-saving transplant.