How a kidney became priceless in Iran

Al Arabiya - A young man, around 30 years old, set himself on fire on Monday in the Revolution Square, one of the largest and most important public squares in Tehran.

An Iranian website stated that the young man doused his body with gasoline and set himself on fire as hapless onlookers tried to rush to his aid, using blankets to put out the fire.

The website, described as having leanings towards the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, Hashemi Rafsanjani, did not report why this young set himself on fire, but many analysts believe he was driven to do so for socio-economic reasons.

Iran is beset with a high suicide rate and several economic woes that have caused many to sell their kidneys in an attempt to make some money.

It is not difficult to draw comparisons with the death of Mohammad Bou Azizi who, in January, set himself on fire in Tunisia, triggering a wave of unrest in the Arab world that saw the exit of President Zine Ben Ali followed by the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Special reports from inside Iran state that the increase in trafficking of kidneys worries authorities as, over the past few years, the country has become a leading nation in the trade of kidneys.

Based on various estimates, thousands of Iranians are selling their kidneys every year because of their dire economic situation.

In 2006, Iran allowed the sale of kidneys, in a bid to regulate the control of surgeries and transplants.

Official reports revealed that an increasing number of patients with kidney failure in Iran and the relatively small number of patients who were brain dead and whose kidneys could be used for transplant, led, more than ever, to a raise in interest of kidney sales.

According to Dr. Irage Najafi, 10 to 15 million Iranians suffer from kidney failure, and many of them are not aware of it.

As a result of the shortage of human organs, many Iranians are willing to sale their kidneys for profit. The price of the kidney in the black market, can fetch10 million Iranian Toman (about $ 9,500 dollars), but many citizens are willing to pay anywhere between 50 to 100 million Toman to buy themselves a kidney, thereby a longer lease on life.