Kidney recipient paid 10 mil. yen for transplant

Friday July 13, 7:29 PM

Kidney recipient paid 10 mil. yen for transplant

(Kyodo) _ A Japanese man paid around 10 million yen to a Japanese agent to undergo a kidney transplant in the Philippines, the man told Kyodo News in a recent interview.

Of the 10 million yen, or $82,000, $20,000 went to the agent, $40,000 to doctors and the hospital at which the surgery was conducted, and $21,000 to a group which recruits donors, he said. A donor receives around $8,000, or 980,000 yen, from the group.

Asked if he had participated in the organ trade, the 44-year-old man from Osaka said, "As I paid the money to the support group for donors, it was not a trade."

The man was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure about one and a half years ago and underwent peritoneal dialysis every day at home.

With the help of the Japanese agent, the man visited the Philippines in late June and underwent the surgery earlier this month. The kidney was donated by a 24-year-old man.

"This business is necessary for patients," the Japanese agent said. "We are involved in translation and travel arrangements for patients and we do not help them to find donors."

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070713/kyodo/d8qbm4q80.html