The Creepy Truth Behind 10 Urban Myths

The Legend

"...and the next day, he woke up in a bath of ice and no memory. It was only when he got to the hospital that they discovered he was missing a kidney". Almost everyone heard the story in the school playground: some poor, unsuspecting tourist ends up drinking with a bunch of strangers only to black out and wake up the next day, sans kidney.

The Truth

Whilst some of the more dramatic parts of the tale may be fabrications, the black market organ trade is indeed thriving and is a particular problem in countries such as India where poverty and illiteracy are still a big problem. Rather than drugging stupid tourists, the criminals harvesting the organs will target the poor and the illiterate.

They will lure them in with the prospect of a job offer, but will insist that the applicant undergo a medical exam before they can start. The medical exam will then "reveal" that the applicant requires a small surgery, and it is during this surgery that the surgeon will pilfer a kidney.

Strangely enough, this is actually one of those cases where the urban legend actually pre-dates the reality. The "black market organ harvesting" story has been doing the rounds since the early 80s, whereas the trade didn't actually become a problem until the mid-90s when donation restrictions were tightened, creating the demand in the black market.

It just goes to show, you should be careful what rumours you spread about - you might give somebody ideas.