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'A MACABRE （死亡之舞）traffic associated with poor countries in Asia and Latin America has sprung up（如雨后春笋般出现） for the first time in western Europe as the credit crunch （信用崩溃）reduces Spaniards to selling organs to “transplant tourists”.
Spanish “kidney for sale” advertisements （出售肾脏的广告）have proliferated（）激增） recently on the internet as people struggle to make ends meet（收支相抵） in a country whose 17% unemployment rate （失业率）is the highest in Europe.
Sergio, a 42-year-old welder （电焊工）and father of four, said he had received an offer of £20,000 from a German couple who needed his kidney for their five-year-old son. If tests showed them to be compatible（兼容的，组织类型相配的）, an operation would be performed in a “third country” since such transactions are illegal（这类交易是非法的） in Europe.
“Apparently, there’s a waiting list of at least five years for a kidney in Germany,” he told a television programme, “but in five years the kid will be dead.”
Just to advertise （为..做广告）a human organ for sale is illegal in Spain and other sellers sounded nervous when contacted last week on the telephone by The Sunday Times.
Alberto, an unemployed construction worker in Valencia with two small children, said he was afraid of ending up on the street（害怕最终沦落街头） because he could no longer pay his mortgage（再也无法支付他的按揭）.
“The bank is on my back,” he said. “If I could think of some other way of raising the money, believe me, I would.”
His biggest fear was that he might fall into the hands of professional traffickers（落入职业贩运者手中） who might operate on him without paying.
He said the price of £150,000 was negotiable （可以商谈的）but he wanted at least half of the money up-front before going under the knife（接受手术，这里非常形象）. He said he had not yet received any offers.
Spanish medical experts said that prices in Spain were much higher than in countries outside Europe. For instance, a kidney can be acquired in Pakistan or Brazil for £1,000. Transplant tourism（移植旅游） has been thriving （盛行）in many Asian and South American countries for years.
Some buyers might prefer a kidney from Europe in the belief that it is healthier than one from the Third World. However, a doctor in a hospital outside Europe would have to perform the operation, said Rafael Matesanz, director of Spain’s national transplant office.
“In general, transplant tourists prefer a complete package,” he added.
This did not stop Edgar, a 44-year-old mechanic who lost his job in August last year, from placing an advertisement for his kidney on the internet in the hope of paying off debts （支付债务）of £90,000.
Kidney problems affect about 10% of the global adult population and there are 2m new cases of renal failure （两百万新的肾衰竭病例）each year. Sufferers can die within a few weeks unless they receive a kidney transplant or undergo dialysis（进行肾脏移植或接收肾脏透析）, an expensive procedure for cleansing the blood.
The World Health Organisation estimates that about 70,000 kidney transplants are performed each year, of which 20% are carried out on the black market in countries including China, Pakistan, Egypt and Colombia.
Facua, a Spanish consumers’ association, has recently reported dozens of internet organ advertisements to the police and an investigation has been opened in Seville into a man who offered a kidney for sale. The practice is likely to grow, however.
“The explanation most often given is economic necessity（经济需求）,” said Ruben Sanchez, a spokesman for the association.
“In a time of economic crisis such as the one we are living through, we think it will be a growing phenomenon.”