BBC Burma has the story (I guess they haven't updated their country name...no doubt they still refer to the Gulf of Mexico, too:)
The story is about Burmese people purchasing a kidney from other Burmese people, after which they both travel to India for the surgeries, which involves pretending to be relatives.
Myanmar villagers reveal 'desperate' illegal kidney sales, BBC Burmese
"Zeya, whose name has been changed to conceal his identity, knew of local people who had sold one of their kidneys. "They looked healthy to me," he says. So he started asking around.
"He is one of eight people in the area who told BBC Burmese they had sold a kidney by travelling to India.
...
"Buying or selling human organs is illegal in both Myanmar and India, but Zeya says he soon found a man he describes as a "broker".
"He says the man arranged medical tests and, a few weeks later, told him a potential recipient - a Burmese woman - had been found, and that both of them could travel to India for the surgery.
"In India, if the donor and recipient are not close relatives, they must demonstrate that the motive is altruistic and explain the relationship between them.
...
"He says the broker made it appear as if he was donating to someone he was related to by marriage: "Someone who is not a blood relative, but a distant relative".
...
Zeya says he was told he would receive 7.5m Myanmar kyats. This has been worth somewhere between $1,700 and $2,700 over the past couple of years
...
" he flew to northern India for the operation and it took place in a large hospital. ... he stayed in hospital for a week afterwards.
...
"The BBC last heard from Zeya several months after his surgery.
"I was able to settle my debts and bought a plot of land," he said.
But he said he couldn't afford to build a house and had not been able to construct one while recovering from the surgery. He said he had been suffering from back pain.
"I have to restart working soon. If the side effects strike again, I have to deal with it. I have no regrets about it," he added.
He said he stayed in touch with the recipient for a while, and she had told him she was in good health with his kidney.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she told the BBC she paid 100m kyats (between around $22,000 and $35,000 in recent years) in total. She denied that documents were forged, maintaining that Zeya was her relative."
HT: Colin Rowat
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Earlier, also on the Myanmar/India black market
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