Organ market

Last Sunday, 18 people were arrested for conducting illegal organ transplant operations in East China's Shandong Province, local authorities said.

Xu Lin, an official with the Jinan Municipal Public Security Bureau, told the Global Times that two private clinics were raided after authorities received tips regarding illegal organ transplants that allegedly took place at the clinics.

At one clinic, suspects were caught while preparing for an operation to remove a kidney from a 23-year-old man from Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, Qilu Evening News reported.

The two clinics were closed after the raid and the owners have since been unreachable, Xu said. No other details have been released, as police are still investigating the case.

Dangerous transplants

About two weeks ago, Wang Ming, a man from Chongqing, reported to the Jinan police that in August he sold one of his kidneys in a clinic to settle his gambling debts. He was brought to Jinan, where he sold his kidney through an online intermediary involved with illicit organ deals.

He had second thoughts about what he had gotten himself into while lying on the clinic's bed to receive the anesthesia for the operation.

"I was scared and wanted to say no to the operation, but I couldn't speak after receiving the anesthesia," Wang said. After the procedure he was paid 20,000 yuan ($3,092).