F

ahmi Rahardiansyah, 19, has put his own kidney up for sale on informal online forum kaskus.co.id in hopes of earning enough money to cover his father’s medical expenses.

The only child of Muhamad Dik Mahmudi and Ami of Tangerang said that his father’s costly medical expenses to treat his high blood pressure had made him resort to the extreme measure of posting the message on the website on Monday. He is offering his kidney for Rp 50 million (US$5,150).

“I just want to help out with my father’s medical expenses,” he said as quoted by kompas.com in Balaraja subdistrict, Tangerang, on Tuesday.

He said he spent Rp 2.5 million on his father’s treatment a few weeks ago at a community health center in Balaraja, Tangerang, and another Rp 1.5 million on each intensive neurological therapy session. Fahmi, an assistant to a medical doctor at a small clinic in Bandung, West Java, earns Rp 1 million a month, while his father receives Rp 800,000 every month from his pension fund.

He said he knew that selling his organ may get him into legal trouble, but was ready to face the consequences.

“I know it’s illegal and I’m afraid. But I don’t mind being imprisoned as long as my father gets better,” he said.