(ANSA) – Udine, August 18 – A man from the northern Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia got so desperate after being made redundant that he advertised one of his kidneys online in exchange for a job or 100,000 euros.
The advert was seen by postal police in Udine and removed last Friday as the sale of human organs is illegal. Prosecutors are investigating.
Officers said the 52-year-old’s personal and economic plight worsened after he lost his job as an administrative manager in May 2009 because of the recession. The redundancy led to him separating from his wife, who stayed in the family home with their dependent student children, while he was forced to rent a tiny bed-sit.
Officers said the man had posted many adverts trying to find work before his situation became so critical that he saw selling a part of his body as the only solution.