Man First Ever Convicted of Organ Trafficking in U.S.

The alleged ringmaster of an illegal kidney trade involving politicians, rabbis, and poor Israelis faces up to 20 years in prison.

An American man has become the first ever man in the U.S. to plead guilty to charges of illegal organ trafficking, admitting that he brokered deals to pay three Israeli donors $10,000 apiece in exchange for their kidneys. Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, 60, of New York turned a tidy profit of $420,000 for running the trade, which his lawyers characterized in court as a lifesaver for critically ill Americans, and noted that all surgeries were performed in U.S. hospitals by top-end surgeons. The prosecution chose to see it more as a case of exploiting poor Israelis who were willing to do whatever it took to make $10,000. Either way, Rosenbaum faces up to 20 years in prison, but we can all thank him for letting us know just how much our kidneys can fetch on the market. Gotta pay down those student debts somehow, right?