Dozens of poor people in a commune in the southern city of Can Tho decided to sell their kidneys to help their families escape poverty.
All the sellers are from Thanh Phu Commune of Co Do District and are blue-collar workers and immigrants living on very modest incomes while acting as the breadwinners for their families.
Several claimed that they were donating their kidneys when completing required procedures with local authorities but then sold the organs instead, earning hundreds of millions of VND. Many did not even inform their families.
Relatives of Le Van Gion, a local man from Hamlet 6 in Thanh Phu Commune, lost contact with him for two months.
While the communal government said that he submitted a false application for kidney donation, relatives knew nothing about it.
“Gion’s brother in law took him away from home by motorbike right after Tet and they have yet to return home and we haven't heard any word since then,” one of Gion’s relative said.
Ho Van Tranh, from the same hamlet, who also sold a kidney said, “After a short time working in HCM City, I met a man named Nguyen Quoc Loi who suffered from kidney failure and proposed to buy one of mine.”
After making the decision, Tranh went to HCM City alone for the operation. All the required procedures as well as medical treatment and living costs after the surgery were covered by the buyer. He was paid VND120 million (USD5,683) for the kidney.
Ho Van Tranh sold a kidney
Several other residents from the hamlet have also sold their kidneys in order to pay off debts and support their families.
Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, a local cadre from the hamlet said they have recorded at least three cases in which people have sold kidneys. Even though they claimed to have donated them, local authorities were aware that they sold the organs.
The scar
“It’s really dangerous when those who have already sold their kidneys act as a mediator to guide others to follow suit,” Hoa commented.
In fact, the number of residents who have sold kidneys has mounted to dozens of people as several have gone.
Senior lieutenant-colonel Le Van Tho, head of Co Do District Police said that between 2012 and 2014 there were at least eight people who “donated” their kidneys and were paid from VND100 million to VND150 million (USD4,735-USD7,103) each.
One family alone has five members who have sold kidneys.
He added that they are working with local authorities to educate people about the illegality and danger of such activities.
