An Egyptian doorman in Cairo had stolen his wife's kidney to sell it on the black market, security sources said on Friday.
The 29-year-old wife, who lives in the Upper Egyptian city of Naga Hammadi (660km south of Cairo), has accused her husband of stealing her kidney and selling it for LE18,000 (about US$3100).
The husband reportedly took his wife to a government-run hospital in Cairo where he persuaded her to have medical tests and she was given anesthetics. She later complained of abdominal pain and when she went to a doctor back at home, he told her that her left kidney was missing, according to the same sources.
Police are searching for the husband and the doctor who performed the surgery and investigating whether the doctor is involved in an organ trafficking ring.
Reports say that Egypt is one of the main markets for organ traders in the Middle East.
In 2005, an Egyptian court granted a divorce to a 54-year-old woman after her husband stole her right kidney.
