Two men have apparently tried to sell their kidneys so they could afford to buy Apple's latest iPhone 6s smartphone.
Every now and then, crazy news come to surface regarding some desperate people who attempt to sell their organs, wives or other such non-vendibles to buy gadgets. In many – if not most of these cases – people are going to these lengths for Apple devices.
The latest such incident involves two men from China's Jiangsu Province, who reportedly tried to sell a kidney each so they could get the new iPhone 6s. As China Daily reports, one of the men, identified simply as Wu, dreamed of an iPhone 6s but didn't have the money for it. His good friend Huang came up with the idea that they each sell one of their kidneys to get the money.
The pair then contacted an illegal agent online, who sent them to a hospital in Nanjing to get a medical examination before proceeding with the surgery. The two were supposed to meet the agent at the hospital, but the man didn't show up. Wu started to reconsider this whole deal and tried to convince Huang to let it go, but to no avail. Unable to make his friend change his mind, Wu eventually called the police and told them about the plan to sell kidneys on the black market. By the time the police got there, however, Huang had run away and authorities have not been able to find him yet.
For China, this is not an isolated incident — there have been numerous other cases of people going to extremes so they could afford the latest smartphones and tablets from Apple. Back in 2012, a teenager actually managed to sell his kidney to purchase an iPhone and an iPad. That case resulted in five arrests. Then in 2013, a couple tried to sell their newborn child so they could buy an iPhone 5. In 2014, a man offered his girlfriend for rent so he could get money for an iPhone 6.
The latest smartphone from Apple now costs a hefty 5,288 RMB in China, i.e. roughly $830, which is more than last year's average monthly wage in the country. At the same time, this price marks a $180 premium over the iPhone 6s price in the U.S.
