A young man who sold his kidney as a teenager in order to buy a new iPhone and iPad is now bedridden for life after his remaining kidney failed.

Chinese man Wang Shangkun, 25, was aged just 17 when he sold his right kidney to black market organ harvesters in April 2011.

Mr Wang, from Anhui Province in East China, received AUD$4,500 and purchased a iPhone 4 and iPad 2 with the funds.

“Why do I need a second kidney? One is enough,” he said in reports at the time.

Mr Wang now spends his days in bed and relies on dialysis to survive his kidney failure, local Chinese media recently revealed.

He developed renal deficiency shortly after the illegal surgery, which is believed to have led to an infection due to the unsanitary setting where it took place and the apparent lack of postoperative care.

View photos Wang Shangkun, 25, (pictured) is now bedridden after his remaining kidney failed. Source: Australscope More

Mr Wang was also forced to give up his studies and now lives on social benefits.

Nine people were arrested in connection with the case and five, including the surgeons who harvested his kidney, were jailed in 2012.

His family was eventually awarded about $300,000 in compensation later the same year.

Mr Wang desperately sought the new iPhone in order to show off to his friends, according to reports.

However, his family lived in one of China’s poorest provinces and could not afford it, so he turned to other means to raise the money.

The operation occurred in the city of Chenzhou in southern China, at the hands of the two doctors who were also employed at local hospitals.

View photos Mr Wang (pictured) sold his right kidney to organ harvesters for $4,5000 in 2011. Source: Australscope More

– Australscope