The legend of the stolen kidney . . . It's as unbelievable as vampires to some and as common as alleged Elvis sightings to others, but one urban myth has the transplant community cringing. The tale, describing how kidneys were stolen from a college student or business traveler, originally circulated several years ago, but the Internet brought it back and the story continues to spread. The call is made and the dispatcher asks him to check his back. Two incisions are found and EMTs are sent to the rescue.
Some versions indicate the kidneys are sold on the black market.
Different versions describe this as having happened in New Orleans, Houston or Las Vegas. The police departments in all three cities say this story is a hoax. The hoax may have appeared as early as the late 1980s, according to Robert Meckel, a former reporter for the Houston Post and now assistant director in the Office of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Meckel said the early story was set in Las Vegas and the alleged victim was a gambler. There is absolutely no evidence of such activity ever occurring in the United States or other industrialized country.