An ‘underground’ transnational human kidney trading ring has been uncovered by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper journalists.
The ring mainly preys on poor young men in remote areas of Vietnam to sell each kidney for VND150 million (US$7,200).
Soon after presenting the results of a health check, including blood group test, urine analysis, cardiogram, and other tests, kidney sellers were offered to stay in a hotel room or a boarding house in Hue City in the central region or in Hanoi in the north.
Kidney sellers from blood group O are the most sought-after, because their kidneys can match with recipients of any blood group. Those from blood group A generally wait a long time for a matching recipient.
A kidney seller often waits for weeks and even months for a suitable recipient before going for an operation to remove his kidney and transplant it to a recipient.
Accommodation and food during the waiting period are provided.
Entering the ringTuoi Tre journalists first contacted the ring via phone numbers found on the Internet, saying they were interested in selling their kidneys.
However, the ‘sellers’ failed after receiving cool replies of “No” or, “Wrong number.” Eventually the ‘sellers’ were able to contact a ring member thanks to the recommendation of a man who had sold his kidney.
One of the ‘sellers,’ whose blood is type A, received a phone call from a man introducing himself as Nhat, 23, from Da Nang City in the central region.
On August 8, Nhat ‘tested’ the ‘seller’ for the last time by asking him to immediately book a flight to Hue.
When the journalist said he could not afford to fly, Nhat told him to prepare a health test, and that someone would pick him up at the Mien Dong (Eastern) bus station in Ho Chi Minh City in a couple of days.
Three days later, a woman named Ha called and asked the ‘seller’ to go to ticket booth number 51 and board a Phi Long bus as “a friend of Ha.”
In Hue, Nhat picked up the ‘seller’ on a motorbike and took him to Thanh Nga Hotel.
“Just stay in your hotel room to rest. Just do what we order. Don’t go out much and don’t talk with strangers,” Nhat told the ‘seller.’
The ‘seller’ stayed in a room on the third floor with five other young men, all of whom were kidney sellers.
Tai, one of the sellers in the room, asked, “Do you have your recipient??” The undercover journalist said no, and Tai said, “You will wait for a long time.”
“I stayed in a hotel in Hanoi for months waiting for my recipient,” Tai added. “Now I am here in Hue to have a kidney removed soon.”
After several days in the hotel, the ‘seller’ watched Trung, another man in the room, beg Ha to let him go home to visit his family, promising that he would keep the sale secret.
However, Ha turned him down, because, “You may be unlucky and have your hands or legs broken in an accident. Then the recipient will refuse you.”
The kidney ring in Hue is not only run by Ha and Nhat, but also by two individuals named Dung and Cong. They often visited the hotel to escort sellers to Hue Central Hospital, about 150m away, for health checks.
While staying in the hotel, a kidney seller who has no recipient is given VND50,000 ($2.5) a day for food. Those who have recipients are given just VND100,000 ($5), for they will be having an operation soon.
In early August, the ring had around 30 young men waiting in hotels for kidney sales.
On average, two to three men contact the ring per day.
Besides Thanh Nga Hotel in Hue, kidney sellers are also ‘gathered’ at other boarding houses located at 100 Phan Chu Trinh Street and 83 Nguyen Sinh Cung Street.
Room 303 at 83 Nguyen Sinh Cung Street is the ‘head office’ of the kidney ring in Hue.
The ring also has a ‘gathering site’ in Hanoi, at 143/39 Nguyen Chinh Street in Hoang Mai District.
Most kidney sellers are poor, and they have agreed to sell their organs for money to help their family and support their parents.
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Đăng ký: VietNam News