Man claims liver transplant from African-American is making him black

Semen Gendler, a white Russian man has claimed that the new liver he got from an African-American donor is making his skin black.

The 65 year old man was in need of a liver when doctors told him he had hepatitis C and cancer. The inventor could only survive with a liver transplant.

His operation was done in the United States. "Russian doctors made it quite clear to me that if I didn't have a liver transplant I would not live" said Mr. Gendler.

"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."

After getting a liver from an unidentified 38-year-old, a former KGB colleague of his started noticing his skin was getting dark.

"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."

The inventor admits that the skin change does not affect him.

"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."