Is there any truth to the Stolen-Kidney Myth?

The original story comes from a "friend of a friend/cousin/neighbor" who is supposed to have walked into a bar and met an extremely beautiful girl who allows herself to be seduced by the friend. After a few drinks they go to a nearby hotel/motel. The next thing he remembers is waking up in a bathtub, filled with ice and a fresh incision scar on his back. Consulting his doctor he finds out that one of his kidneys had been removed and is warned that there is a syndicate specializing in stealing kidneys from healthy looking people, drugging them and performing the surgery in a hotel/motel room. The kidneys are then sold to wealthy people who need the organ This story is actually a classic "urban legend", the sort of folklore that is passed by word of mouth, but all attempts to trace the source are confounded. There are several reasons why this story is highly unlikely: • A donor nephrectomy operation is a very delicate and demanding procedure since unlike a simple nephrectomy wherein ...  more