Turkish police have opened an investigation into advertisements through which individuals, in order to get money, offer a kidney for sale, local media reports.
Sellers ask for as much as 54.000 euros for a kidney, and often boast that their "product" is in good health.
"I want to sell a kidney urgently, because I'm in debt. I've never drunk alcohol in my life," reads one of the ads published online by the "Haberturk" newspaper, AFP reported.
"I sell liver, kidney and bone marrow. I exercise and walk every day," is the text of another ad.
The ads are believed to be linked to a group that smuggled organs and illegally removed and transplanted kidneys in Turkey, Egypt, India, Iran and Iraq, and was busted in October.
According to the data of the Turkish Ministry of Health, in this country, last year, about 20.000 patients were waiting for a kidney transplant, and about 2.000 for a liver transplant.
Turkey is one of the main transit countries for organ smuggling, according to the media.
In 2005, Ankara amended its penal code to explicitly define organ trafficking as a criminal offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
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