A Russian inventor named Semen Gendler, 65, was given a liver transplant from an African donor in the United States claims that his skin has started to go black. Semen Gendler was in urgent need of a liver after he was diagnosed with serious health conditions such as hepatitis C and cancer. He was told by doctors his only hope was a liver transplant. After a fruitful conversation with his contacts in the United States, he hurriedly arranged his flight to US from his home in Krasnodar in the Krasnodar Krai, south-western Russia, to have the operation done and save his life,
"Russian doctors made it quite clear to me that if I didn't have a liver transplant I would not live. I do a lot of business in the US with partners in New York, and I asked them to help me arrange for the operation where if you have enough money it is possible to do it more quickly than in Russia. Fortunately I was able to afford the cost of the $500,000 [£325,000] operation, in Russia I would have had to wait too long for a donor." - Semen Gendler
Semen was delighted at first with having the liver of a 38-year-old, he even claimed that it had given him a second shot at life. But all of it started to change, when he thought that his former KGB colleague Igor Atamanenko was only kidding when he noticed that his skin tone seems to be changing gradually.
"I noticed that his skin was getting darker. When he told me they had given him the liver of an African-American man, I guess that was probably the reason for the colour change. I have known my friend for years and he has always been if anything extremely pale, and now for the first time ever he is becoming dark skinned." - Igor Atamanenko
Semen even stated that he had never tried to be that somebody who goes out in the sun that much and he always avoided it even after the transplant which meant he didn't believe a suntan was the reason for the change in color of his skin. He firmly believes that this is likely due to the fact that he had an organ transplant from an African donor. Semen's doctors also have struggled to come up with an explanation on how the liver is changing his skin tone. Semen admits that despite his skin's changing color, it doesn't trouble him that much.
"I could end up much darker than this to be honest, I don't care. The main thing is that the liver works and I am healthy. It's incredible, I am now so full of energy and living between two cities in New York and Krasnodar and if my skin ends up dark who cares, I certainly don't." - Semen Gendlersource: mirror.co.uk