Horrible - hopefully a hoax!?

[EdwardTking]

"Surgeon stole man's kidneys


A 30-year-old man who had both kidneys surgically removed in what may have been an illegal transplant has died in hospital after struggling for three weeks to survive.

Surendra Kumar, a motorised rickshaw driver, had surgery for an appendicitis in early December at a private hospital in Mahnar, a small town in the impoverished Indian state of Bihar.

Within days he developed complications and was taken to Patna, the state capital, for treatment where doctors in the government hospital found that both his kidneys had been removed, police officer Preeta Verma said.

Kumar died in the Patna hospital.

A privately-run television channel, New Delhi Television, reported that doctors had recommended a kidney transplant for Kumar but the procedure could not be carried out due to lack of facilities in the hospital.

Police are investigating whether the surgeon and his three assistants - who cannot be located - had links to an organ transplant mafia that operates in several Indian cities.

"We have not yet found any links but it is clear that the surgeon was a quack running an illegal hospital," said Verma. Removal of both kidneys had raised the suspicion that it might not be a case of incompetence or negligence, the officer added.

"If it were incompetence, one kidney would be lost. Not both," said the officer."

AOL

 

[Babbler]

OMG! The stories are true...

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

That's pretty sick, organ harvesting.

 

[IglooDame]

I'm guessing hoax. Why take both, and have it be the Indian equivalent of 1st degree murder, instead of taking one, and have it be assault and theft?

 

[Aramazd]

That's sick. I hope they catch the guy who did that.

 

[JohnRM]

It may not be true, in this particular case, but it does indeed happen. There are a lot of sick people in this world. This is only a glimpse of what they are capable of.

 

[Truronian]

I'm guessing hoax. Why take both, and have it be the Indian equivalent of 1st degree murder, instead of taking one, and have it be assault and theft?

Because if you know you can get away and you are a souless murderer, then its twice the profit. If this is true then it is horrific.

 

[farting bob]

Is it even possible to survive with no kidneys for 3 weeks, most of which was without medical attention?

 

[Bugfatty300]

Is it even possible to survive with no kidneys for 3 weeks, most of which was without medical attention?

They use a dialysis machine to act as kidneys. But after too long with out it then you'll die either way.

 

[Abaddon]

How stupid- they could have harvested so much without ever killing anyone!

kidneys, bits of liver, taken blood and bone marrow donations.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

I actually read something similar in my local newspaper, only this was about organ harvesting in New York.

 

[Stylesjl]

There are a lot of terrible and callous people in this world

 

[Padma]

Almost guaranteed to be a hoax. Similar stories have been running on the internet for over a decade. The mainstream has bought into the idea that it could happen. (Well, technically, it *could*, but is highly unlikely.)

From a link off snopes.com dated 1997:

Debunking the Kidney Heist Hoax

To all interested persons:

A persistent and totally false urban myth has gained new life and notoriety thanks to the Internet. The myth, often told from someone's "personal experience," describes a business traveler who is heavily drugged, then awakes to find he or she has had one kidney (or sometimes both) removed for a black market transplant. The setting for this scenario is often a popular tourist destination such as New Orleans or Las Vegas.

Some folklorists claim the roots of this story date back centuries, but it has been told in a transplant setting for at least ten years. Over the last few weeks, UNOS has learned that a version of this story has been circulating rapidly on Internet discussion groups and the internal e-mail systems of a number of organizations. Often the message is accompanied with an official-sounding header or warning, such as "Business Travelers' Advisory." Sometimes there are added personal comments or "testimonials" from people who claim they know victims of this scenario.

There is absolutely no evidence of such activity ever occurring in the U.S. or any other industrialized country. While the tale sounds credible enough for many listeners, it has no basis in the reality of organ transplantation.

Many people who hear the myth probably dismiss it, but it is possible that some believe it and decide against organ donation out of needless fear. The Washington Post first ran a story about the kidney heist myth on April 2, 1991 in which the writer traced back the origin of the myth to a rejected movie script. A second article printed in the Washington Post on January 30, 1997 shed light on this latest iteration of the myth on the Internet.


If you have questions, please contact the UNOS News Bureau at (804) 327-1432.

 

[Warman17]

I still believe it no matter what scopes said 8 years ago about this particular case.

 

[Chieftess]

Sounds like an Urban Legend I saw on TV.

 

[allhailIndia]

Sorry, but this is very much a true story...

Too many kidney heists have happened to too many poor people in India.

There was a huge racket busted some years ago when organs were taken from unwitting persons( mostly poor) to be sold abroad. The margin was insane especially since most of the people whose kidneys were gone had no idea what had happened until some reporters and NGOs got hold of the story.

This is a common feature in many developing countries where corrupt officials and doctors connive to exploit the global short supply of organs and gullibility of the rural poor.

 

[general_kill]

This is making me dizzy. I'm scared to ever have surgery >.<

 

[Stylesjl]

This is making me dizzy. I'm scared to ever have surgery >.<

It will be so rare in a developed country like the USA

 

[allhailIndia]

It will be so rare in a developed country like the USA

..true. I see no reason why the average person should be afraid of surgery or doctors.

The situation above mentioned happened in what is the "Heart of Darkness" of India; Bihar. Along with the lungs of darkness, UP, both of which have 1/5th of the Indian population, shave off about 3-4% off GDP growth because of crime, poverty, disease, corruption, nepotism, despotism, you name it we got it problems.

In other places, people sell organs for food.