Pak man puts kidney for auction on Web

Islamabad, Sept. 7: Bizarre as it sounds, a Pakistani has put his kidney up for sale at a leading auction website of the country.

In recent years, Pakistan has emerged as one of the largest centres for commerce in renal transplantation but an anonymous 26-year-old "healthy male" deciding to sell his kidney on bolee.Com is a pointer towards the thriving trade.

An advertisement on "Pakistan’s First Auction Site" reads, "Kidney for Sale: I am a 26-year-old healthy person and want to sell one of my kidneys for AB+ compatible person. My demand is Rs 600,000 (operation and other medical expenses will be borne by kidney purchaser)."

The donor, who is supposedly based in Islamabad, has a month and 21 days left to get an auctioneer. There have been no bids yet.

According to a research paper published by the Sindh Institute of Urology in Transplant International, Pakistan has now emerged as one of the largest centres for commerce and tourism in renal transplantation.

Of the 239 kidney vendors contacted by the researchers, 69 per cent were bonded labourers, 12 per cent labourers, 8.5 per cent housewives and 11 per cent unemployed.

Their mean age was around 35 years.

In fact, 98 per cent report deterioration in general health status, the study revealed. "Transplants are a lucrative business for Pakistani doctors, hospital staff and ‘fixers’ who exploit the gullible and the needy."

—PTI