Compiled by MARTIN CARVALHO, C.ARUNO AND R.ARAVINTAN
SOME Malaysians are offering to sell their kidneys on social media to pay off debts, Kosmo! reported.
The exclusive report, which uncovered the illegal activity on Facebook through a group seeking kidney donors, cited three cases.
Individuals advertised their organs, including health details, blood type and contact information.
Among them was a petty trader named Hafaz, 43, who said that he wanted to sell his kidney to recover a piece of land belonging to his mother, which he had secretly mortgaged for RM150,000.“I am aware that selling my organ is wrong, but I have reached a dead end in order to find money.
“I will donate (my organ) if the patient is willing to provide money to settle my debts,” Hafaz said.Another was a 32-year-old contractor seeking RM100,000 in 2021 to clear debts and fund his child’s heart surgery.
Dr Hasdy Haron who is a senior manager of the National Organ Transplant Clinic, which comes under the National Organ Transplant Resource Centre, said as of June, a total of 9,245 patients were on the waiting list for organs such as kidneys, liver, heart and lungs from deceased donors.
However, he said only 46 donors had registered, and as such, the price of organs were exorbitant on the black market.
> 14-year-old Nur Marissa Hana Anuar is a rising star on TikTok, with 71,000 followers for her anime (Japanese animation) artwork, which she sells for between RM10 and RM20 a piece.
Her mother Nur Shahida Md Yusup, 39, who spoke to Harian Metro, said her daughter, a student, began doodling when she was only three years old and drew her own characters for her comic book.
“She has since moved on to digital drawings, and even her teacher commended her talent,” Nur Shahida said.
She said both she and her husband Anuar Kamaruddin, 41, were supportive of Nur Marissa who at times faced negative remarks.
Nur Shahida, who has dyslexia and ADHD, said that she uses her platform to challenge misconceptions about dyslexia.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
