eBay Stops Website Auction Of Human Kidney

BERLIN (Reuters) - Internet auction house eBay said on Sunday it had put a stop to an auction of a human kidney on its German website which drew a bid of 200,000 marks ($100,000).

The offer was posted on the U.S. auctioneer's site (http://www.ebay.de/) by an anonymous seller who said it could be picked up in the Swiss city of Zurich. The $100,000 bid, made on February 18, was still on the website at midday on Sunday.

eBay Managing Director Europe Joerg Rheinboldt told Reuters the auction had been shut down. He said it had not been possible to trace either the would-be seller or the bidder.

"We do not allow this sort of thing," Rheinboldt said. "We are a very open and free trading platform. (But) our conditions of use spell out very clearly what may and may not be traded."

He said eBay cooperated with police and justice authorities if illegal objects were put on sale. He added that such offers were often practical jokes.

In the advertisement the would-be organ donor writes: "Young man, 38, non-smoker, non-drinker, offers fully functioning kidney. You can choose which one. Buyer to bear all the costs for medication and transplant. Of course, you can only have one kidney because I need the other one to live."

eBay's terms of use do not allow the sale of human organs.

eBay Stops Website Auction Of Human Kidney

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