Archive · 3 Oct 2025
Chinese Teenager's Kidney Sale Leads to Lifelong Dialysis
A teenager named Wang Shangkun in China wanted an iPhone and iPad.
He didn't have money, so he made a big mistake.
He sold one of his kidneys to get the money to buy the gadgets.
The operation wasn't done safely, and it made him very sick.
Now, he's 31 and has to go to the hospital every day to clean his blood because his kidneys don't work right.
This is a story about making bad choices and the dangers of illegal organ sales.
Wang Shangkun sold a kidney on the black market.
He was 17 years old at the time.
The surgery was performed under unsafe conditions.
He developed infections and kidney failure.
He now requires daily dialysis.
- Who
- Wang Shangkun
- What
- Sold a kidney for an iPhone and iPad.
- When
- 2011
- Where
- Hunan province, China
- Why
- To afford Apple gadgets.
- Victim
- Wang Shangkun
- Age at Incident
- 17
- Year of Incident
- 2011
- Reason for Sale
- To buy iPhone 4 and iPad 2
- Current Health
- Requires daily dialysis