UNITED STATES - CIRCA 1960s: Surgeons performing an operation in operating room, elevated view. (Photo by H. Armstrong Roberts/Retrofile/Getty Images) (Getty)
It sounds like scenes from a horror movie. But it actually happened in Brazil.
Two Säo Paulo doctors are in court on charges that they removed organs for transplant from patients who were still alive. The patients later died in the hospital.
Doctors Pedro Torrecillas and Rui Sacramento are each charged with four counts of homicide in a trial that started Monday. The deaths happened between September and December 1986 in the hospital connected to the University of Taubate, in Säo Paulo state.
Another doctor, Dr. Mariano Fiore Junior, is charged as an accomplice.
According to court documents, the doctors used fake death certificates to extract kidneys from the victims, who had agreed to donate organs after their death.
Torrecillas and Sacramento have both pleaded not guilty.
Based on reporting by The Associated Press.
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