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Article: Scarred For Life.(organ transplant trade, Moldavia)
- Article from:
- Newsweek International
- Article date:
- July 16, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Nina Ungureanu is tired of having visitors come to her gate. "They all want the same thing," says the Moldovan housewife, 40. That is, to join the ranks of the other seemingly lucky villagers, like Ungureanu, who have mortgaged their bodies to buy a roof over their heads. Recently a shepherd stopped by, demanding information on how to sell a kidney. Before him came a man asking how to sell one of his eyes. He had heard someone in Europe was looking for a blue one.
Many of the impoverished citizens of the former Soviet republic are looking to score a windfall by selling an organ to a wealthy recipient, often relying on criminal middle-men to secure the deal. "At ...