Kidneys illegally sold online

Kidneys are being freely traded on the Internet which is functioning as a medium for sellers and the organ brokers who are gaining huge profits. Internet sites are flooded with people who want to make extra money by offering their kidneys, which can be sold for 40,000 yuan ($5,900) to 60,000 yuan.

Two major online forums www.02066.com.cn and www.as.2sun.cn, are operating for organ brokers in dozens of cities across the country, including Beijing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Shangqiu in Henan province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Dongguan in Guangdong province, Changchun in Jilin province and Hefei in Anhui province.

More than 1 million people need kidney transplants every year in China but only 1 percent of them undergo the surgery because of the nation's organ shortage, according to official statistics. Experts say four out of every five patients die while waiting for a suitable match.