Kidneys for Sale on Facebook, Orkut

You can get more than just a gift or a shout out on your wall on Facebook, now. According to an Arab News article yesterday, the Indian kidney trade has found it's way onto the social networking site. Orkut also has a community of people willing to sell and buy kidneys frequenting the site. The article says that around 150,000 Indians are in need of kidney transplants every year while only 3,500 are made legally available. This has created a market for the poor to hawk their organs. One potential salesman is willing to get cut open to pay for his sister's medical bills. Another wants to pay for infertility treatments for his wife. This helps put into perspective the societal finger-wagging spurred by the glut of Facebook photos featuring female users drunk. Feeling that the sale of a vital organ may be the only way to fend off looming medical bills is what one might call a "real problem." -Andy Wright