Gang sold organs in 1 m-yuan operation

Traffickers tell judge they are helping patients to stay alive

Four alleged organ traffickers, one of whom sold his own kidney for money, are awaiting their sentence after being tried at a Beijing court on Tuesday.

He Linxuan, 26, the ringleader, and his co-defendants, Ye Weihua, Zhen Dingliang and Si Zhenqiao, admitted making more than 1 million yuan from running an illegal business in 2008 and 2009. It is the second case involving illegal transplants that has been prosecuted in less than a week.