China: Five charged in case of teenager selling kidney for iPhone

Five people in southern China were charged with "intentional injury" on Friday in the case involving a Chinese teenager who sold his kidney so he could buy an iPhone and an iPad, according to Reuters.

The five included a surgeon who removed a kidney from the 17-year-old boy last April.

One of the other defendants received about 220,000 yuan ($35,000) to arrange the transplant. He passed on 22,000 yuan to the boy, referred to by the name Wang, and split the rest with the surgeon, three other defendants and other medical staff, according to Reuters.

More on GlobalPost: Teenager in China sold kidney online so he could buy Apple iPad 2 (VIDEO)

MSNBC said the prices of iPhones start at 3,988 yuan ($633) and iPads start around 2,988 yuan ($474).

The teen was from the Anhui province, one of China's poorest, where residents frequently migrate elsewhere for work, according to MSNBC. The fact that he sold his kidney was only revealed after his mother asked him where he got the money to buy an iPhone and an iPad.

More on GlobalPost: China to phase out organ donations from executed prisoners

China's state news agency, Xinhua, reported that Wang's renal deficiency is deteriorating.

Wired noted that the trade of human organs was only banned in China in 2007, which means this case before 2007 would not have been a crime.

Official statistics show that more than a million people in China need transplants every year, but fewer than 10,000 organs are available, ensuring a thriving black market for organs that profits brokers, doctors and corrupt government officials.

More on GlobalPost: A stepping stone to new human tissue and body parts