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thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com</ref>]] | |||
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] and ]s in the People's Republic of China (1997–2007)<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010334/http://www.thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/Health-System-Reform-in-China-CMT-11.pdf |date=17 July 2011 }} ''The Lancet'' Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref>]] | |||
'''Organ transplantation in China''' has taken place since the 1960s, and is one of the largest ] programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 liver and kidney transplants a year in 2004.<ref name=Lancet/> | |||
Involuntary ]<ref name="urlOrgan harvesting in China in 2016: This is the brutal reality">{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-reality-of-human-organ-harvesting-in-china/news-story/14d3aa5751c39d6639a1cc5b39f223b7 |title=Organ harvesting in China in 2016: This is the brutal reality |format= |accessdate= |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413175704/https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-reality-of-human-organ-harvesting-in-china/news-story/14d3aa5751c39d6639a1cc5b39f223b7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="url- ORGAN HARVESTING OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL DISSIDENTS BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY">{{cite web |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg75859/html/CHRG-112hhrg75859.htm |title=- ORGAN HARVESTING OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL DISSIDENTS BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY |accessdate= |archive-date=13 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113211602/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-112hhrg75859/html/CHRG-112hhrg75859.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="GutmannTestimony">{{cite web |url=http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/112/HHRG-112-FA17-WState-GutmannE-20120912.pdf |title=Congressional Testimony:Organ Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party |date=12 September 2012 |work=Ethan Gutmann |access-date=14 September 2012 |publisher=House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915082736/http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/112/HHRG-112-FA17-WState-GutmannE-20120912.pdf |archive-date=15 September 2012}}</ref> is illegal under Chinese law. Growing concerns about possible ethical abuses arising from coerced consent and corruption led medical groups and human rights organizations, by the 1990s, to condemn the practice.<ref name="TTS">{{cite web |url=http://www.dafoh.org/the-transplantation-societys-policy-on-interactions-with-china |title=The Transplantation Society's Policy on Interactions With China |author=Annika Tibell |publisher=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting |date=8 May 2007 |access-date=4 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712030320/https://dafoh.org/the-transplantation-societys-policy-on-interactions-with-china/ |archive-date=12 July 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> These concerns resurfaced in 2001, when a Chinese asylum-seeking doctor testified that he had taken part in organ extraction operations.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171129030646/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/29/world/doctor-says-he-took-transplant-organs-from-executed-chinese-prisoners.html |date=29 November 2017 }} New York Times 29 June 2001</ref> | |||
In 2006, allegations emerged that many ].<ref name=orgharv/><ref name=CGOH>Gutmann, Ethan. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017095219/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp |date=17 October 2015 }}, ], 24 November 2008</ref> An initial ] stated "the source of 41,500 transplants for the six year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained" and concluded that "there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners".<ref name=orgharv/> | |||
'''Organ transplantation in the People's Republic of China''' has taken place since the 1960s, and is one of the largest ] programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 transplants a year in 2004. China is also involved in innovative transplant surgery such as face transplantation including bone.<ref name=bone/> The government's transplant programme attracted the attention of international ] in the 1990s due to ethical concerns about the ] removed from the corpses of executed criminals being ] for transplants. Further, in 2006, there were claims of harvesting of organs from live practitioners of the banned ] spiritual movement which led to a disputed report being compiled by former Canadian parliamentarian ] and human rights lawyer ]. Since 2007 Chinese authorities have introduced legislation to stop international trade in prisoners' organs, and to increase voluntary donation from the general public. | |||
In December 2005, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplants was widespread.<ref name=tidyup/> In 2007, China issued regulations banning the commercial trading of organs,<ref name="www.chinadaily.com.cn">{{cite web |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04/10/content_9711027.htm |title=New system to boost number of organ donors |work=China Daily |access-date=21 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420221127/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-04/10/content_9711027.htm |archive-date=20 April 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the ] agreed that the organs of prisoners should not be used for transplantation, except for members of the immediate family of the deceased.<ref name=CMA>Press release, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602050838/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/84754.php |date=2 June 2009 }}, '']'', 7 October 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> In 2008, a liver-transplant registry system was established in Shanghai, along with a nationwide proposal to incorporate information on individual driving permits for those wishing to donate their organs.<ref name=liver>{{cite web |url=http://www.shanghai.gov.cn/shanghai/node17256/node18151/userobject22ai29524.html |title=shanghai |publisher=shanghai.gov.cn |access-date=25 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718220837/http://www.shanghai.gov.cn/shanghai/node17256/node18151/userobject22ai29524.html |archive-date=18 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Despite these initiatives, '']'' reported in August 2009 that approximately 65% of transplanted organs still came from death row prisoners. The condemned prisoners have been described as "not a proper source for organ transplants" by Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu,<ref name=bbc20090826>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8222732.stm |title=China admits death row organ use |work=BBC News |date=26 August 2009 |access-date=24 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906064315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8222732.stm |archive-date=6 September 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in March 2010, he announced the trial of China's first ] program starting after death, jointly run by the ] and the Ministry of Health, in 10 pilot regions. In 2013, Huang Jiefu altered his position on utilizing prisoners' organs, stating that death row prisoners should be allowed to donate organs and should be integrated into the new computer-based organ allocation system.<ref>{{cite news|title=China media: Military spending|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-26445553|access-date=14 March 2014|publisher=BBC|date=5 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305201946/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-26445553|archive-date=5 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In 2018 and 2019, media investigations and academic analysis into these allegations increased.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csxyl4|title=BBC World Service - Discovery, China's Organ Transplants, Tourism and Transparency|website=BBC|access-date=3 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114205009/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csxyl4|archive-date=14 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>How The West Enabled China Organ Harvesting Expansion, by Frances Martel, 22 June 2019, ''Breitbart News''</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal |title=Analysis of official deceased organ donation data casts doubt on the credibility of China's organ transplant reform. |journal=BMC Med Ethics |volume=20 |issue=79 |pages=79 |doi=10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6 |pmid=31722695 |pmc=6854896 |last1=Robertson |first1=M.P. |last2=Hinde |first2=R.L. |last3=Lavee |first3=J. |date=14 November 2019 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In August 2024, media outlets reported on the first known survivor of China’s forced organ harvesting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First Known Survivor of China's Forced Organ Harvesting Speaks Out |url=https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/first-known-survivor-of-chinas-forced-organ-harvesting-speaks-out/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cleave |first=Iona |date=2024-08-09 |title=Chinese organ harvesting victim woke up chained to bed with parts of liver and lung missing |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/08/09/organ-harvesting-survivor-cheng-pei-ming-china/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> | |||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Globally, pioneering experimental studies in the surgical technique of human organ transplantation were made in the early 1900s by the French surgeon ], and successful transplants starting spreading worldwide after the Second World War.<ref name=Geneva> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021045403/http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/1991/9241693045.pdf |date=21 October 2014 }}, page 7, ], Geneva, 1991</ref> | |||
Globally, pioneering experimental studies in the surgical technique of human ] were made in the early 1900s by the French surgeon ], and successful transplants starting spreading worldwide after the ].<ref name=Geneva>, page 7, ], Geneva, 1991</ref> China herself began organ transplantation in the 1960s, which grew to an annual peak of over 13,000 transplants in 2004,<ref name=Lancet> ], 20 October 2008, thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com</ref> and, despite some deaths from infection and hepatitis, the transplant programme has been successful in saving many lives.<ref name=icrc/> Though the number of transplants fell to under 11,000 annually by 2005, China still has one of the largest transplant programmes in the world,<ref name=TTS/><ref name=Lancet/> and explores innovative surgery, such as Professor Guo Shuzhong performing the world’s first face transplant that included bone.<ref name=bone>{{cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3534205/Military-hospital-in-China-conducts-world-first-face-transplants.html |title=Military hospital in China conducts world-first face transplants - Telegraph |publisher=telegraph.co.uk |accessdate=2010-09-24 }}</ref> ], however, has met resistance as involuntary organ donation is illegal under Chinese law,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1411389.stm |title=BBC News | ASIA-PACIFIC | China fury at organ snatching 'lies' |publisher=news.bbc.co.uk |accessdate=2010-05-21 }}</ref> and is against Chinese tradition and culture, which attach symbolic life affirming importance to the kidney and heart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dafoh.org/Article_by_Dr.php |title=Article by Dr. Tom Treasure in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |publisher=www.dafoh.org |accessdate=2010-05-21 }}</ref><ref>David N. Weisstub, Guillermo Díaz Pintos, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zIlDmNVlHlAC&pg=PA238&dq=chinese+%22life+after+death%22+%22integrity+of+the+body%22&cd=1#v=onepage&q=chinese%20%22life%20after%20death%22%20%22integrity%20of%20the%20body%22&f=false |title=''Autonomy and Human Rights in Health Care: An International Perspective'', page 238|publisher=Springer, 2007, ISBN 1402058403 |accessdate=2010-05-21 }}</ref> China is not alone in encountering donation difficulties - demand outstrips supply in most countries, and the world wide shortage has encouraged some countries - such as India - to trade in human organs.<ref name=icrc/><ref>Reddy KC: In Land W, Dossetor JB (eds): Organ Replacement Therapy: Ethics, Justice, Commerce. New York: Springer-Verlag; 1990, p 173, ISBN 3540536876</ref> Reports of organs being removed from executed prisoners in China for sale internationally had been circulating since the mid-1980s, when a 1984 regulation made it legal to harvest organs from convicted criminals with the consent of the family or if the body goes unclaimed,<ref name=tidyup>Jane Macartney, , ], December 3, 2005</ref> and the development of a drug, ], made transplants a more viable option for patients.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japans-rich-buy-organs-from-executed-chinese-prisoners-470719.html |title=Japan's rich buy organs from executed Chinese prisoners - Asia, World - The Independent |publisher=www.independent.co.uk |accessdate=2010-05-21 }}</ref> | |||
China itself began organ transplantation in the 1960s, which grew to an annual peak of over 13,000 transplants in 2004;<ref name=Lancet> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010334/http://www.thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/Health-System-Reform-in-China-CMT-11.pdf |date=17 July 2011 }} '']'', 20 October 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> and, despite some deaths from infection and hepatitis, the transplant programme has been successful in saving many lives.<ref name=icrc/> Though the number of transplants fell to under 11,000 annually by 2005, China still has one of the largest transplant programmes in the world.<ref name=Lancet/><ref name=TTS/> China explores innovative surgery, such as the world's first flesh and bone face transplant, performed by Professor Guo Shuzhong.<ref name=bone>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3534205/Military-hospital-in-China-conducts-world-first-face-transplants.html |title=Military hospital in China conducts world-first face transplants |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=24 September 2010 |location=London |date=28 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524104942/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3534205/Military-hospital-in-China-conducts-world-first-face-transplants.html |archive-date=24 May 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Organ donation, however, has met resistance, and involuntary organ donation is illegal under Chinese law,<ref name=lies> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305085928/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1411389.stm |date=5 March 2016 }}, BBC News, 28 June 2001. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> as it is against Chinese tradition and culture, which attach symbolic life affirming importance to the kidney and heart.<ref name=treasure>{{cite journal |url=http://www.dafoh.org/the-falun-gong-organ-transplantation-the-holocaust-and-ourselves |title=The Falun Gong, organ transplantation, the holocaust and ourselves |author=Treasure, Tom |journal=] |volume=100 |issue=3 |date=March 2007 |pages=119–121 |publisher=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting |access-date=2 January 2015 |doi=10.1177/014107680710000308 |pmid=17339305 |pmc=1809171 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102065158/http://www.dafoh.org/the-falun-gong-organ-transplantation-the-holocaust-and-ourselves/ |archive-date=2 January 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>David N. Weisstub, Guillermo Díaz Pintos, {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zIlDmNVlHlAC&q=chinese+%22life+after+death%22+%22integrity+of+the+body%22&pg=PA238 |title=''Autonomy and Human Rights in Health Care: An International Perspective'' |page=238 |publisher=Springer |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4020-5840-0 |access-date=21 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919201242/http://books.google.com/books?id=zIlDmNVlHlAC&pg=PA238&dq=chinese+%22life+after+death%22+%22integrity+of+the+body%22&cd=1#v=onepage&q=chinese%20%22life%20after%20death%22%20%22integrity%20of%20the%20body%22&f=false |archive-date=19 September 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==International concerns: 1985–2005== | |||
Concerns about some poorer countries exploiting the donor shortage and selling organs to richer countries led the ] (WMA) to condemn the purchase and sale of human organs for transplantation at Brussels in 1985,<ref name=Geneva/> and at Stockholm in 1994.<ref name=icrc>{{Cite web|url=http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList302/87DC95FCA3C3D63EC1256B66005B3F6C |title=The Bellagio Task Force Report on Transplantation, Bodily Integrity, and the International Traffic in Organs |publisher=www.icrc.org |accessdate=Jun. 14, 2010 }}</ref> In Madrid in 1987, the ] (WHO) condemned the practice of extracting organs from executed prisoners due to the difficulty of knowing if they had given consent.<ref name=Hillman/> Growing concern led other professional societies and human rights organizations to condemn the practice in the 1990s,<ref name=TTS/> and to question the way in which the organs were obtained.<ref name=tidyup/> The WHO starting drafting an international guideline (WHA44.25) on human organ transplants in 1987,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.who.int/ethics/topics/human_transplant_report/en/index.html |title=WHO | Human organ and tissue transplantation |publisher=www.who.int |accessdate=2010-09-23 }}</ref> which resulted in the ''WHO Guiding Principles on Human Organ Transplantation'' being endorsed in 1991;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.who.int/ethics/topics/transplantation_guiding_principles/en/index.html |title=Draft guiding principles on human organ transplantation |publisher=World Health Organization |accessdate=Jun. 9, 2010}}</ref> however the wording did not allow the international community to draw up any laws preventing China from continuing to trade in human organs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www1.american.edu/ted/prisonorgans.htm |title=Illegal Human Organ Trade from Executed Prisoners in China |publisher=www1.american.edu |accessdate=Jun. 9, 2010 }}</ref> | |||
China is not alone in encountering donation difficulties; demand outstrips supply in most countries. The world-wide shortage has encouraged some countries—such as India—to trade in human organs.<ref name=icrc/><ref>Reddy KC: In Land W, Dossetor JB (eds): Organ Replacement Therapy: Ethics, Justice, Commerce. New York: Springer-Verlag; 1990, p 173, {{ISBN|3-540-53687-6}}</ref> Reports of organs being removed from executed prisoners in China for sale internationally had been circulating since the mid-1980s, when a 1984 regulation made it legal to harvest organs from convicted criminals with the consent of the family or if the body goes unclaimed.<ref name=tidyup>Jane Macartney, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305100023/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article2612313.ece |date=5 March 2016 }}, '']'', 3 December 2005</ref> Development of an immunosuppressant drug, ], made transplants a more viable option for patients.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japans-rich-buy-organs-from-executed-chinese-prisoners-470719.html | title=Japan's rich buy organs from executed Chinese prisoners | work=The Independent | access-date=21 May 2010 | location=London | first1=Clifford | last1=Coonan | first2=David | last2=McNeill | date=21 March 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925184241/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japans-rich-buy-organs-from-executed-chinese-prisoners-470719.html | archive-date=25 September 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The ] convened a hearing in 1995 on the trade in human body parts in China;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/china-illegal-trade-in-human-body-parts-hearing-before-the-committee-on-foreign-relations-united-states-senate-one-hundred-fourth-congress-first-session-may-4-1995/oclc/33310708 |title=China, illegal trade in human body parts : hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, May 4, 1995|year=1995) |publisher=www.worldcat.org |accessdate=Jun. 18, 2010 }}</ref> receiving evidence from various sources including statements from ], a BBC news report, and government documents produced by ], a campaigner for ].<ref> ''Laogai Report'', November 1995. The Laogai Research Foundation</ref> | |||
==Milestones== | |||
The WMA, the ], and the ] reached an agreement in 1998 that these practices were undesirable and that they would jointly investigate them with a view to stopping them; however, in 2000, the Chinese withdrew their cooperation.<ref name=Hillman>] in a letter published in the November, 2001 issue of '']'' {{Cite web|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121712/ |title=Harvesting organs from recently executed prisoners |publisher=www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov |accessdate=Jun. 14, 2010 }}</ref> Amnesty International claimed to have strong evidence that the police, courts and hospitals were complicit in the organ trade, facilitated by the use of mobile execution chambers, or "death vans".<ref name=calum>Calum MacLeod, , '']'', May 15, 2006</ref> Amnesty speculated that this profitable trade might explain China's refusal to consider abolishing the death penalty, which is used on between 1,770 (official figure) and 8,000 (Amnesty estimates) prisoners annually. Corpses are typically cremated before relatives or independent witnesses can view them, fuelling suspicions about the fate of internal organs.<ref name=calum/> | |||
The first living related ] was performed in China in 1972;<ref name=chen/> the first allogeneic ] was successfully executed in an acute leukaemia patient.<ref>Dr LU Daopei, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211082232/http://www.hkmj.org/article_pdfs/hkm0906sp3p9.pdf |date=11 February 2014 }}. ''Hong Kong Medical Journal'' (3 June 2009) 15 (Suppl 3):9–12</ref> The first recorded clinical ] in China took place in 1995, seven years after the world's first was performed in São Paulo, Brazil.<ref>Wang XH, Zhang F, Li XC, Qian JM, Kong LB, Huang J, et al. Clinical report on 12 cases of Living donor partial liver transplantation. Natl Med J Chin (Chin) 2002; 82: 435–439.</ref> Between January 2001 and October 2003, 45 patients received living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) at five different hospitals.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=16805984 |date=2006 |last1=Wang |first1=X. H. |last2=Yan |first2=L. N. |last3=Zhang |first3=F. |last4=Li |first4=X. C. |last5=Zhu |first5=J. Y. |last6=Peng |first6=Z. H. |last7=Liu |first7=J. H. |last8=Li |first8=G. Q. |last9=Cheng |first9=F. |last10=Sun |first10=B. C. |last11=Ge |first11=W. G. |title=Early experiences on living donor liver transplantation in China: Multicenter report |journal=Chinese Medical Journal |volume=119 |issue=12 |pages=1003–1009 |doi=10.1097/00029330-200606020-00007 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2002, doctors at Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University described three cases of living related liver transplantation. In 2003 a landmark brain-death case involving switched off ventilation came to the attention of the public and made a big impact on medical ethics and legislation. The first successful brain-death organ donation soon followed.<ref name=chen>Zhonghua Klaus Chen (6 December 2007). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123145613/http://www.cityu.edu.hk/garc/ARC/ARCfile/SSS/SSS06122007.htm |date=23 January 2013 }} of the Institute of Organ Transplantation, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College and ], PRC, pub: City University of Hong Kong</ref> From October 2003 to July 2006, 52 LDLT operations were conducted at the West China Hospital, ].<ref>{{Cite journal|pmc=4250651 |date=2007 |last1=Li |first1=F. G. |last2=Yan |first2=L. N. |last3=Zeng |first3=Y. |last4=Yang |first4=J. Y. |last5=Lin |first5=Q. Y. |last6=Jiang |first6=X. Z. |last7=Liu |first7=B. |title=Donor safety in adult living donor liver transplantation using the right lobe: Single center experience in China |journal=World Journal of Gastroenterology |volume=13 |issue=27 |pages=3752–3755 |doi=10.3748/wjg.v13.i27.3752 |pmid=17659739 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In October 2004, Peking University People's Hospital Liver Transplantation Center executed two cases of living related liver transplantation involving complex blood vessel anatomy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=WH |last2=Wan |first2=YL |last3=Lee |first3=L |last4=Yang |first4=YM |last5=Huang |first5=YT |last6=Chen |first6=CL |last7=Fan |first7=ST |author-link6=Chen Chao-long |title=First two cases of living related liver transplantation with complicated anatomy of blood vessels in Beijing |journal=World Journal of Gastroenterology |date=2004 |volume=10 |issue=19 |pages=2854–2858 |doi=10.3748/wjg.v10.i19.2854 |pmid=15334685 |pmc=4572117 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2002, the Chinese media reported surgeon Dr Zheng Wei successfully transplanted a whole ovary at the Zhejiang Medical Science University to a 34-year-old patient, Tang Fangfang, from her sister.<ref>Woodford, Peter (15 March 2007) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714155839/http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2007/03_15/4_advances_medicine2_5.html |date=14 July 2011 }}, ''National Review of Medicine'' vol 4 no. 5</ref> In April 2006, the Xijing military hospital in Xian carried out a ] operation covering the cheek, upper lip, and nose of Li Guoxing, who was mauled by an ] while protecting his sheep.<ref name="titleXinhua - English">{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/15/content_4426709.htm|title=China's first human face transplant successful|date=15 April 2006|access-date=25 November 2007|agency=Xinhua News Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014015822/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/15/content_4426709.htm|archive-date=14 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="'First face transplant' for China">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4910372.stm |title='First face transplant' for China |access-date=25 November 2007 |work=BBC News |date=14 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014125952/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4910372.stm |archive-date=14 October 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
The first successful ] procedure was performed in September 2006, at a military hospital in ]. The patient, a 44-year-old male, had sustained the loss of most of his penis in an accident. The transplanted penis came from a ] 22-year-old male. Although successful, the patient and his wife suffered ] as a result of the procedure, and had the surgery reversed fifteen days later.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/sep/18/medicineandhealth.china | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Man rejects first penis transplant | first=Ian | last=Sample | date=18 September 2006 | access-date=22 May 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830183416/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/sep/18/medicineandhealth.china | archive-date=30 August 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| title = A preliminary report of penile transplantation | |||
In June 2001, Wang Guoqi, a Chinese doctor applying for ], made contact with ] who, through his Laogai Research Foundation, assisted Wang in giving a written statement to the ] that he had removed skin and corneas from more than 100 executed prisoners for the transplant market at the Tianjin Paramilitary Police General Brigade Hospital, and that during at least one such operation the prisoner was still breathing.<ref>, BBC News, June 28, 2001</ref> Wang, a "burn specialist", said that he had also seen other doctors remove vital organs from executed prisoners; and the hospital where he worked sold those organs to foreigners. Harry Wu said that he had gone to "great lengths" to verify Wang's identity and that both the foundation and congressional staff members found the doctor's statements "highly credible."<ref name='WashPost'>{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49239-2001Jun26 |title=Chinese Doctor Tells of Organ Removals After Executions |accessdate=September 21, 2008 |last=Mufson |first=Steven |date=June 27, 2001 |work=Washington Post |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5azlCotB6 |archivedate=September 21, 2008 }}</ref> | |||
| year = 2006 | |||
| journal = European Urology | |||
| pages = 851–853 | |||
| volume = 50 | |||
| issue = 4 | |||
| last1 = Hu | first1 = Weilie | |||
| last2 = Lu | first2 = Jun | |||
| last3 = Zhang | first3 = Lichao | |||
| last4 = Wu | first4 = Wen | |||
| last5 = Nie | first5 = Haibo | |||
| last6 = Zhu | first6 = Yunsong | |||
| last7 = Deng | first7 = Zhixiong | |||
| last8 = Zhao | first8 = Yongbing | |||
| last9 = Sheng | first9 = Wen | |||
| last10=Chao | first10=Qiyou | |||
| last11=Qiu | first11=Xiaofu | |||
| last12=Yang | first12=Jinghua | |||
| last13 = Bai | first13 = Ying | |||
| doi = 10.1016/j.eururo.2006.07.026 | |||
| pmid = 16930814 | |||
}}</ref> Following this, ], famous for performing the world's first face transplant, wrote that the case "raises many questions and has some critics". He alluded to a double standard writing, "I cannot imagine what would have been the reactions of the medical profession, ethics specialists, and the media if a European surgical team had performed the same operation."<ref name=Dubernard2006>{{Cite journal| title = Penile transplantation? | |||
| year = 2006 | |||
| last1 = Dubernard | first1= Jean-Michel | author1-link = Jean-Michel Dubernard | |||
| journal = European Urology | |||
| pages = 664–665 | |||
| volume = 50 | |||
| issue = 4 | |||
| pmid = 16930811 | |||
| doi = 10.1016/j.eururo.2006.07.055 | |||
| last2 = Lu | |||
| first2 = J | |||
| last3 = Zhang | |||
| first3 = L | |||
| last4 = Wu | |||
| first4 = W | |||
| last5 = Nie | |||
| first5 = H | |||
| last6 = Zhu | |||
| first6 = Y | |||
| last7 = Deng | |||
| first7 = Z | |||
| last8 = Zhao | |||
| first8 = Y | |||
| last9 = Sheng | |||
| first9 = W | |||
}}</ref> | |||
==International concerns== | |||
By 2005 the WMA had specifically demanded that China cease using prisoners as organ donors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/30council/cr_5/index.html |title=The World Medical Association Council Resolution on Organ Donation in China |publisher=World Medical Association |accessdate=Jun. 9, 2010 }}</ref> In December of that year, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplant was widespread, and he promised that steps would be taken to prevent abuse.<ref name=tidyup/><ref name=lum>Lum, Thomas (August 11, 2006). , Congressional Research Service</ref> According to ''Time'', a transplant brokerage in Japan which organised 30–50 operations annually sourced its organs from executed prisoners in China.<ref name=grim>Gerlin, Andrea (April 23, 2006) , ''Time Magazine''</ref> | |||
=== Organs sourced from prisoners sentenced to death === | |||
On the eve of a state visit to the United States by President Hu Jintao, the 800-member British Transplantation Society also criticised China's use of death-row prisoners' organs in transplants, on the grounds that as it is impossible to verify that organs are indeed from prisoners who have given consent;<ref name=grim/> the WMA once again condemned the practice on similar grounds.<ref>Press release, , World Medical Association, May 22, 2006</ref> | |||
Transplantation first began in the early 1970s China, when organs were sourced from executed prisoners. Although other sources, such as brain-dead donors, had been tried, the lack of legal framework hampered efforts. Dr Klaus Chen said in 2007 that this was still the dominant pool.<ref name=chen/> The Laogai Research Foundation website have a portal to display the relationship between execution and organ market in China.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://laogairesearch.org/museum/execution-and-organ-market/ |title=Execution & Organ Market |publisher=Laogai Research Foundation |access-date=17 May 2022 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516233602/https://laogairesearch.org/museum/execution-and-organ-market/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Concerns that some poorer countries were answering donor shortages by selling organs to richer countries led the ] (WMA) to condemn the purchase and sale of human organs for transplantation at Brussels in 1985,<ref name=Geneva/> in 1987 and at Stockholm in 1994.<ref name=icrc>{{cite web |url=https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jnyk.htm |title=The Bellagio Task Force Report on Transplantation, Bodily Integrity, and the International Traffic in Organs |publisher=icrc.org |access-date=26 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226085247/https://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jnyk.htm |archive-date=26 December 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
<!-- A BBC news report by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wtSV_BEf14 |title=YouTube - Organ selling in China. BBC investigates undercover |publisher=Youtube |accessdate=Jun. 18, 2010 }}</ref> to develop --> | |||
In Madrid in 1987, the ] (WHO) condemned the practice of extracting organs from executed prisoners due to the difficulty of knowing if they had given consent.<ref name=Hillman/> Growing concern led other professional societies and human rights organisations to condemn the practice in the 1990s,<ref name=TTS/> and to question the way in which the organs were obtained.<ref name=tidyup/> The WHO starting drafting an international guideline (WHA44.25) on human organ transplants in 1987<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/ethics/topics/human_transplant_report/en/index.html |title=Human organ and tissue transplantation |publisher=WHO |access-date=23 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724155326/http://www.who.int/ethics/topics/human_transplant_report/en/index.html |archive-date=24 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which resulted in the ''WHO Guiding Principles on Human Organ Transplantation'' being endorsed in 1991.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/ethics/topics/transplantation_guiding_principles/en/index.html |title=Draft guiding principles on human organ transplantation |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730112457/http://www.who.int/ethics/topics/transplantation_guiding_principles/en/index.html |archive-date=30 July 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, the wording did not allow the international community to draw up any laws preventing China from continuing to trade in human organs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.american.edu/ted/prisonorgans.htm |title=Illegal Human Organ Trade from Executed Prisoners in China |publisher=www1.american.edu |access-date=9 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610014852/http://www1.american.edu/ted/prisonorgans.htm |archive-date=10 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
==Falun Gong allegations: 2006== | |||
===Sujiatun case=== | |||
In 2006, claims of harvesting of organs from live practitioners of the banned ] spiritual movement led to a disputed report being compiled by former Canadian member of parliament ] and human rights lawyer ].<ref name=orgharv>{{Cite web|url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/ |title=An Independent Investigation into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China |author=Kilgour & Matas |publisher=organharvestinvestigation.net |accessdate=Jun. 9, 2010 }}</ref> | |||
The ] convened a hearing in 1995 on the trade in human body parts in China;<ref>{{cite book|title=China, illegal trade in human body parts : hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, first session, May 4, 1995|year=1995 |publisher=worldcat.org |oclc = 33310708}}</ref> receiving evidence from various sources including statements from ], the BBC, and Chinese government documents produced by human rights activist ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429171210/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/sdc/vol9e.pdf |date=29 April 2009 }} ''Laogai Report'', November 1995. The Laogai Research Foundation. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> | |||
] in Hong Kong enacting "live organ harvesting" in China.]] | |||
Throughout March 2006, ]-affiliated '']'' (ET) published articles containing allegations by three anonymous individuals claiming to be eyewitnesses to organ harvesting at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital and beyond, labelling it "Sujiatun Concentration Camp".<ref name=scmp>{{Cite news|work=South China Morning Post |title=Activist Harry Wu challenges organ harvesting claims |first=Paul |last=Mooney |date=August 9, 2006}}</ref> One of the individuals was said to have worked in the Malaysian-owned hospital and was aware of 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners being kept alive in the basement. She alleged that the bodies of these people were thrown directly into the crematorium to be burnt after their organs had been extracted.<ref name=epoch2>Ji Da, , ''Epoch Times'', March 17, 2006</ref> Another individual who identified himself as a veteran military doctor in Shenyang was cited by ET to corroborate the claim. He said Sujiatun was just one of up to 36 such sites across China between which practitioners were rapidly transferred by closed freight train on special routes.<ref name=sourcereveals>, ''Epoch Times'', March 31, 2006</ref> | |||
The WMA, the Korean Medical Association, and the ] reached an agreement in 1998 that these practices were undesirable and that they would jointly investigate them with a view to stopping them; however, in 2000, the Chinese withdrew their cooperation.<ref name=Hillman>] in a letter published in the November 2001 issue of '']'' {{cite journal|pmc=1121712 |title=Harvesting organs from recently executed prisoners | pmid=11758525 |volume=323 |issue=7323 |date=November 2001 |author=Hillman H |journal=BMJ |page=1254 |doi=10.1136/bmj.323.7323.1254}}</ref> Amnesty International claimed to have strong evidence that the police, courts, and hospitals were complicit in the organ trade, facilitated by the use of mobile execution chambers, or "death vans".<ref name=calum>Calum MacLeod, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219225930/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-14-death-van_x.htm |date=19 February 2011 }}, '']'', 15 May 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> Amnesty speculated that this profitable trade might explain China's refusal to consider abolishing the death penalty, which is used on between 1,770 (official figure) and 8,000 (Amnesty estimates) prisoners annually. Corpses are typically cremated before relatives or independent witnesses can view them, fuelling suspicions about the fate of internal organs.<ref name=calum/> | |||
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman vehemently rejected the ET claims about Sujiatun, and argued that the hospital was incapable of housing 6,000 persons,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t244686.htm |title=Embassy Spokesperson: Lies about the So-called "Sujiatun Concentration Camp" Concocted by "Falun Gong" Not Worth Refuting |date=April 6, 2006 |publisher=Chinese Embassy in Canada}}</ref> there is no basement for incarcerating practitioners as alleged, and that there was simply no way to cremate corpses in secret, continuously, and in large volumes.<ref> (March 28, 2006) '']''. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref> Investigators sent by dissident Harry Wu to Sujiatun three days after the story surfaced found no evidence of the existence of the alleged concentration camp.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wu Hongda's Statement on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp: My Knowledge and Experience with the Falun Gong media reporting on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp problem |author=Observechina.net |url=http://www.observechina.net/info/artshow.asp?ID=39862 |language=Chinese |date=July 18, 2006}} </ref> Wu dismissed the claims as merely hearsay from two witnesses, without the support of any paperwork or any detailed information.<ref>Frank Stirk, , Canadian Christianity</ref><ref name=glen/> | |||
In June 2001, Wang Guoqi ({{lang|zh|王國齊}}), a Chinese doctor applying for ], made contact with Harry Wu and his Laogai Research Foundation, who assisted Wang in testifying to the ] in writing that he had removed skin and corneas from more than 100 executed prisoners for the transplant market at the Tianjin Paramilitary Police General Brigade Hospital, and that during at least one such operation the prisoner was still breathing.<ref name=lies/> Wang, a "burns specialist", said that he had also seen other doctors remove vital organs from executed prisoners; and the hospital where he worked sold those organs to foreigners. Harry Wu said that he had gone to "great lengths" to verify Wang's identity and that both the foundation and congressional staff members found the doctor's statements "highly credible".<ref name='WashPost'>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49239-2001Jun26 |title=Chinese Doctor Tells of Organ Removals After Executions |access-date=21 September 2008 |last=Mufson |first=Steven |date=27 June 2001 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064443/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49239-2001Jun26 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
In April 2006 U.S. representatives visited the site twice. They paid an unannounced visit one week after the report surfaced, and made a second visit with official cooperation three weeks later. Although the representatives found no evidence that the site was being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital,<ref name=lum/><ref name=usgov1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/April/20060416141157uhyggep0.5443231.html |title=U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alleged Concentration Camp in China |publisher=US Government |date=April 16, 2006 |accessdate=Dec. 18, 2009}}</ref> they expressed United States' concerns over China’s repression of Falun Gong practitioners and by reports of organ harvesting.<ref name=usgov1 /> Kilgour, and Ethan Gutmann, adjunct fellow at the ] implied a cover up, stating that the three weeks between when the story broke to when the US State Department officials conducted their investigation was long enough by Chinese construction standards.<ref name=gutmann/><ref name=gutmann>Ethan Gutmann, , ''Weekly Standard'', May 8, 2006, Volume 011, Issue 32</ref><ref name=defendsclaims>Tony Jones, , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 15, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2006.</ref> | |||
In December 2005, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplant was widespread—as many as 95% of all organ transplants in China derived from executions,<ref>Congressional Executive Commission on China Annual Report 2006, p. 59; note 224, p.201</ref> and he promised steps to prevent abuse.<ref name=tidyup/><ref name=lum>Lum, Thomas (11 August 2006). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516182859/http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf |date=16 May 2011 }}, Congressional Research Service</ref> In 2006, the WMA demanded that China cease using prisoners as organ donors.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204232011/http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/30council/cr_5/index.html |date=4 December 2010 }} World Medical Association May 2006</ref> According to ''Time'', a transplant brokerage in Japan which organised 30–50 operations annually sourced its organs from executed prisoners in China.<ref name=grim>Gerlin, Andrea (23 April 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823135547/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1186611,00.html |date=23 August 2013 }}, ''Time''. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> ], vice president of the ], said he believed that nearly 400 hospitals in China had been involved in the transplant organ trade, with websites advertising kidney transplants for $60,000.<ref name="yst06">McMillan-Scott, Edward (13 June 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518073043/http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/debate/columnists/secret-atrocities-of-chinese-regime-1-2374600 |date=18 May 2015 }} Yorkshire Post</ref> | |||
] | |||
David Kilgour and David Matas conducted a two-month investigation at the request of the ],<ref>US Newswire (July 20, 2006) . Retrieved July 26, 2006.</ref> and reported on July 20, 2006 that large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners throughout China were victims of systematic organ harvesting whilst still alive.<ref name=orgharv/> The findings were controversial as observers agreed the conclusions were based on circumstantial evidence.<ref name=theage060708>Reuters, AP (July 8, 2006) , ''The Age'', (Australia). Retrieved July 7, 2006.</ref> The authors admitted difficulty in verifying the Falun Gong allegations due to the lack of independent bodies which investigate conditions in China, and availability of eyewitness evidence and official information about organ transplantation. In addition, they claimed that their efforts were hampered by the denial of visas to China.<ref name=news24>AFP (July 6, 2006), News24.com. Retrieved July 7, 2006.</ref> The authors said the combination of the strands allowed them to deduce that the allegations of China's harvesting of organs from live Falun Gong practitioners were true.<ref>Kirstin Endemann, CanWest News Service; ''Ottawa Citizen'' (July 6, 2006), Canada.com. Retrieved July 6, 2006.</ref><ref>''Calgary Herald'' (July 5, 2006), Canada.com. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref> In 2007, the authors continued to allege that the harvesting of organs from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners was still taking place "on a large scale".<ref>Matas D, Kilgour, D: Revised 2007 Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting in China (November 28, 2009) . Retrieved November 28, 2009.</ref> | |||
On the eve of a state visit to the United States by President ], the 800-member British Transplantation Society also criticised China's use of death-row prisoners' organs in transplants, on the grounds that as it is impossible to verify that organs are indeed from prisoners who have given consent;<ref name=grim/> the WMA once again condemned the practice on similar grounds.<ref>Press release, , World Medical Association, 22 May 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> A BBC news report by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in September 2006 showed negotiations with doctors in No 1 Central Hospital in Tianjin for a liver transplant.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5386720.stm |title=Organ sales 'thriving' in China |work=BBC News |access-date=10 November 2010 |date=27 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220937/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5386720.stm |archive-date=20 May 2014 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wtSV_BEf14 |title=Organ selling in China. BBC investigates undercover |publisher=] |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723094638/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wtSV_BEf14 |archive-date=23 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
;Response of Chinese authorities | |||
China has repeatedly denied the organ harvesting allegations in the report.<ref name="ctvJuly06">CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) , ''CTV.ca''. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref><ref>Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) , canada.com. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref> Upon release of the initial report on July 6, Chinese officials immediately declared that China abided by ] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors, and accused the authors of wanting to smear China. They denounced the report as being "based on rumours and false allegations," and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them without any merit.<ref name=ccpembassy>{{Cite web|author=Chinese Embassy in Canada |title=Response to the so called "China's organ harvesting report |url=http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t261810.htm |date=July 6, 2006 |accessdate=July 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t263446.htm |title=Exposing the Lies of "Falun Gong" Cult |publisher=www.china-embassy.org |accessdate=Jun. 14, 2010 }}</ref> | |||
=== |
==== 2017 announcement ==== | ||
In February 2017, ] quoted former vice health minister Huang Jiefu as saying "From January 1, 2015, organ donation from voluntary civilian organ donors has become the only legitimate source of organ transplantations", and ] interpreting this as a ban on "the use of organs from executed prisoners" in January 2015.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=禁止器官买卖,中国是认真的 China steps up crackdown on organ trafficking |url=http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/dk99ol0WsHPmCmdviXAReg |newspaper=CCTVNEWS |date=7 February 2017 |access-date=11 February 2017 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227183717/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/dk99ol0WsHPmCmdviXAReg |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In 2006, a ] report by Dr. Thomas Lum stated that the Kilgour-Matas report relied largely on logical inference, without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony; the conclusions also relied heavily upon transcripts of telephone calls with reported PRC respondents, the credibility of which is questionable due to the Chinese government's controls over sensitive information.<ref name=lum/> | |||
=== {{anchor|2006 allegations of living harvesting}}Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners === | |||
Associate Director of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine in the University of Minnesota, Kirk C. Allison, (2006) and Tom Treasure of Guy's Hospital, London (2007), considered the report plausible from a medical standpoint, based on the numerical gap in the number of transplants and the short waiting times in China compared with other countries.<ref name=treasure>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dafoh.org/Article_by_Dr.php |title=The Falun Gong, organ transplantation, the holocaust and ourselves |author=Treasure, Tom |work=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |vol=100 |date = March 2007|pages=119–121|publisher=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting |accessdate=May 21, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tc.umn.edu/~falun/document/all092906.pdf |title=Falun Gong, Organ Harvesting in China, and the Human Rights Case for an Independent Congressional Investigation – testimony submitted by Kirk C. Allison |format=PDF |date=September 29, 2006 |work=Open Hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and | |||
{{see also|Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China|Persecution of Falun Gong#Organ harvesting}} | |||
Investigations |accessdate=Feb. 4, 2010 |publisher=University of Minnesota}}</ref> Allison asserted that the "short time frame of an on-demand system requires a large pool of donors pre-typed for blood group and HLA matching," and cited consistency with Kilgour and Matas' allegations about the systematic tissue typing of Falun Gong prisoners. Allison called for academia and medical circles to stop cooperating with China on organ transplantation.<ref>, ''The Epoch Times'', August 7, 2006</ref> | |||
In 2006, allegations that ] practitioners had been killed to supply China's organ transplant industry prompted an investigation by former Canadian Secretary of State ] and human rights lawyer ]. In July 2006, the ]<ref name=orgharv>], ] (6 July 2006, revised 31 January 2007) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208015223/http://organharvestinvestigation.net/ |date=8 December 2017 }} (free in 22 languages) organharvestinvestigation.net</ref> questioned "the source of 41,500 transplants for the six year period 2000 to 2005" and thereby inferred that "the government of China and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention centres and 'people's courts', since 1999 have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience".<ref name=orgharv/> | |||
The authors of the Kilgour–Matas report reached their conclusion via circumstantial evidence and inference from this evidence.<ref name="orgharv"/><ref>], AP (8 July 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531070407/http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/falun-gong-organ-claim-supported/2006/07/07/1152240489760.html |date=31 May 2014 }}, '']'', (Australia). Retrieved 7 July 2006.</ref><ref name=Ottawa>Endemann, Kirstin (6 July 2006) CanWest News Service, ], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017095219/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=290fed94-d0c2-4265-8686-54ce75d08eca&k=34245 |date=17 October 2015 }}, Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref><ref>'']'' (5 July 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313175955/http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=c990936c-e208-4601-888f-810ff73bd994 |date=13 March 2007 }}. Retrieved 8 July 2006.</ref> | |||
Hong Kong-based ] aired a programme in June 2007 which refuted the Sujiatun allegations, and attacked the Kilgour-Matas report. It said the hospital was not equipped for organ transplantation; the premises and staffing were inadequate for housing thousands of prisoners; that the incinerator was actually only a water-boiler. The hospital denied the claimed witnesses were employees; doctors interviewed also denied involvement. The programme showed that the area around the hospital was in a dense conurbation where large movements of people would be noticed.<ref name=phoenix>{{Cite web|url=http://phtv.ifeng.com/program/shnjd/200706/0628_1612_144064.shtml |title=The truth behind the so-called "Falun Gong practitioner concentration camp" |accessdate=August 15, 2008 |work=] |date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref> | |||
It included observations of the extremely short wait times for organs in China compared with other countries, indicating that organs were being procured on demand; the rise in the number of annual organ transplants in China corresponded with the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong.<ref name=orgharv/> An updated version of their report was published as a book in 2009.<ref name=BHbook>{{cite news |author1=David Kilgour |author2=David Matas |title=Bloody Harvest, The killing of Falun Gong for their organs |url=http://www.seraphimeditions.com/bloody-harvest.html |page=232 |publisher=seraphimeditions.com |date=2009 |access-date=30 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403113123/http://www.seraphimeditions.com/bloody-harvest.html |archive-date=3 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226073851/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/27/chinese-accused-of-vast-trade-in-organs/print/ |date=26 December 2015 }}, '']'' 27 April 2010</ref> | |||
In 2014, investigative journalist ] published the results of his own investigation.<ref name=EGbook/> Gutmann conducted extensive interviews around with former detainees in Chinese labor camps and prisons, as well as former security officers and medical professionals with knowledge of China's transplant practices.<ref name=Jay>] (25 August 2014) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223172904/http://www.nationalreview.com/sites/default/files/nordlinger_gutmann08-25-14.html |date=23 February 2016 }}, '']''</ref><ref>Barbara Turnbull (21 October 2014) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707062227/https://www.thestar.com/life/2014/10/21/qa_author_and_analyst_ethan_gutmann_discusses_chinas_illegal_organ_trade.html |date=7 July 2017 }}, '']''</ref> He reported that organ harvesting from political prisoners likely began in ] in the 1990s, and then spread nationwide. Gutmann estimates that some 64,000 Falun Gong prisoners may have been killed for their organs between 2000 and 2008.<ref name=EGbook>{{cite news|last1=Getlen|first1=Larry|title=China's long history of harvesting organs from living political foes|url=https://nypost.com/2014/08/09/chinas-long-history-of-harvesting-organs-from-living-political-prisoners/|access-date=15 August 2014|publisher=]|date=9 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811212811/http://nypost.com/2014/08/09/chinas-long-history-of-harvesting-organs-from-living-political-prisoners/|archive-date=11 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Slaughter>{{cite book|last1=Gutmann|first1=Ethan|title=The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China's Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem|date=August 2014|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=978-1616149406|page=368}}</ref> | |||
In May 2008 two United Nations Special Rapporteurs reiterated their previous request for the Chinese authorities to adequately respond to the allegations,<ref name=marketwireun2>, May 9, 2008</ref> and to offer an explanation for the source of organs which would account for the sudden increase in organ transplants in China since 2000. In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted its concern at the allegations and called for China to "immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims", and take measures "to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished".<ref name=UNCAT>United Nations Committee Against Torture, , Forty-first session, Geneva, November 3–21, 2008</ref> | |||
In December 2006, after not getting assurances from the Chinese government about allegations relating to Chinese prisoners, the two major organ transplant hospitals in ], Australia, stopped transplant training for Chinese surgeons and banned joint research programs into organ transplantation with China.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025090747/http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Hospitals-ban-Chinese-surgeon-training/2006/12/05/1165080933418.html |date=25 October 2016 }}, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 5 December 2006</ref> | |||
David Ownby, a noted expert on Falun Gong, said "Organ harvesting is happening in China, but I see no evidence proving it is aimed particularly at Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name=radiocan>{{Cite web| url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/apropos/lib/v3.1/pdf/revfalungongenglish.pdf |title=Review by the Ombudsman, French Services of Complaint filed by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada |date=January 27, 2009}}</ref> Glen McGregor of the '']'', who had been the target of personal attacks by Kilgour and Matas, said "Depending on who you believe, the Kilgour-Matas report is either compelling evidence that proves the claims about Falun Gong... or a collection of conjecture and inductive reasoning that fails to support its own conclusions". He said his 'crime' of failing to report the allegations as fact had led to him be compared to ]s.<ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, , '']'', November 24, 2007</ref> | |||
In July 2006 and April 2007, Chinese officials denied organ harvesting allegations, insisting that China abides by ] (WHO) principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors.<ref>Chinese Embassy in Canada (6 July 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315033950/http://ca.china-embassy.org/eng/mtfw/press2/t261810.htm |date=15 March 2015 }}, ca.china-embassy.org</ref><ref>Chinese Embassy in Canada (15 April 2007) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813192801/http://ca.china-embassy.org/eng/mtfw/press2/t311443.htm |date=13 August 2014 }}, ca.china-embassy.org</ref> | |||
==International concerns: 2006–2007== | |||
According to a 2006 Congressional Executive Commission report, Huang Jiefu, China's Vice Minister of Health, indicated in July 2005 that as many as 95% of all organ transplants in China derived from executions.<ref>Congressional Executive Commission on China Annual Report 2006, p. 59; note 224, p.201</ref> | |||
In May 2008 two United Nations Special Rapporteurs reiterated their previous request for the Chinese authorities to adequately respond to the allegations,<ref name=marketwireun2> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512183828/http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2008/05/09/united-nations-human-rights-special-rapporteurs-reiterate-findings-on-chinas-organ-harvesting-from-falun-gong-practitioners |date=12 May 2015 }}, 9 May 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> and to explain the source of organs which would account for the sudden increase in organ transplants in China since 2000. | |||
In June 2006, ], vice president of the ], said he believed that nearly 400 hospitals in China shared the lucrative trade in transplant organs, with websites advertising new kidneys for $60,000.<ref name="yst06">McMillan-Scott, Edward (June 13, 2006) , ''Yorkshire Post'', June 13, 2006. Retrieved June 28, 2006.</ref> | |||
On 12 September 2012, the ] held a hearing on the topic of organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China.<ref name=OHRPD>Damon Noto, M.D., Gabriel Danovitch, M.D., Charles Lee, M.D., Ethan Gutmann. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205204531/http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearings/view/?1468 |date=5 December 2014 }}, ], 12 September 2012</ref> During the hearing, Gutmann described his interviews with former Chinese prisoners, surgeons and nurses with knowledge of organ harvesting practices. | |||
The US ] (NKF) stated in August 2006 that they were deeply concerned with the allegations in the Kilgour Matas report, and that "any act which calls the ethical practice of donation and transplantation into question should be condemned by the worldwide transplantation community." The NKF also condemned organ transplant tourism in general.<ref> National Kidney Foundation, August 14, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2006.</ref><ref>, National Kidney Foundation, August 15</ref> | |||
In 2012, ''State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China'', edited by David Matas and Dr. Torsten Trey, was published with essays by Dr. Gabriel Danovitch, Professor of Medicine,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909121426/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Danovitch+G |date=9 September 2017 }}, US National Library of Medicine</ref> ], Professor of Bioethics,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909095448/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Caplan+AL |date=9 September 2017 }}, US National Library of Medicine</ref> Dr. Jacob Lavee, cardiothoracic surgeon,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908160852/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Lavee+J |date=8 September 2017 }}, US National Library of Medicine</ref> Dr. Ghazali Ahmad,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908160827/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Ahmad+G |date=8 September 2017 }}, US National Library of Medicine</ref> Professor Maria Fiatarone Singh,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816084735/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Fiatarone+Singh+M |date=16 August 2017 }}, US National Library of Medicine</ref> Dr. Torsten Trey,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908160859/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Trey+T |date=8 September 2017 }}, US National Library of Medicine</ref> Gutmann and Matas.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527201924/http://www.seraphimeditions.com/pdfs/Introduction-State-Organs |date=27 May 2013 }} seraphimeditions.com</ref><ref>Rebeca Kuropatwa (19 September 2012) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124932/http://www.jewishtribune.ca/arts-and-culture/2012/09/19/new-matas-book-reveals-transplant-abuse |date=2 April 2015 }}, ''Jewish Tribune''</ref><ref>] (27 November 2012) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613183433/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3642188.htm |date=13 June 2016 }}, ]</ref><ref>David Matas, Dr. Torsten Trey (2012) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224121713/http://www.seraphimeditions.com/state-organs.html |date=24 February 2015 }} seraphimeditions.com p. 144</ref> | |||
In December 2006, the Australian Health Ministry abolished training programs for Chinese doctors in organ transplant procedures in the Prince Charles and the Princess Alexandra Hospitals and the banning of joint research programs with China on organ transplantation.<ref>{{Cite news | |||
|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20876865-1702,00.html?from=public_rss | |||
|title=Hospitals ban training Chinese surgeons | |||
|author=] | |||
|date=December 5, 2006 | |||
|work=The Age |location=Australia}}</ref> | |||
], a human rights activist, has questioned the Falun Gong's claims that Falun Gong members are specifically targeted for large-scale organ harvesting.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 September 2006 |title=Harry Wu questions Falun Gong's claims about organ transplants |url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Harry-Wu-questions-Falun-Gong's-claims-about-organ-transplants-6919.html |newspaper=AsiaNews.it |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117164324/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Harry-Wu-questions-Falun-Gong's-claims-about-organ-transplants-6919.html |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=9 August 2006 |title=Harry Wu mette in dubbio le accuse del Falun Gong sui trapianti di organi |url=http://www.asianews.it/notizie-it/Harry-Wu-mette-in-dubbio-le-accuse-del-Falun-Gong-sui-trapianti-di-organi-6919.html |newspaper=AsiaNews.it |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117021121/http://www.asianews.it/notizie-it/Harry-Wu-mette-in-dubbio-le-accuse-del-Falun-Gong-sui-trapianti-di-organi-6919.html |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In early 2007, Israeli health insurance carriers stopped sending patients to China for transplants.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Jerusalem Post |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180867542367&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |title=Chinese Embassy calls organ harvesting claims 'grotesque lies' |date=June 3, 2007}}</ref> This was in part related to an investigation in which Israeli authorities arrested several men for tax evasion in connection with a company that mediated transplants of Chinese prisoners’ organs for Israelis. One of the men had stated in an undercover interview that the organs came from "people who oppose the regime, those sentenced to death and from prisoners of the Falun Gong sect."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://media.faluninfo.net/media/doc/2008/12/IsraelNews_Translation.pdf |title=Organ Traders Evade Taxes |first=Oron |last=Meiri |coauthors=Nae, Buki and Levi, Zohar Shahar |work=Yediot Aharonot |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center}}{{Verify credibility|date=July 2010}}</ref> In May 2007 Rabbi ] prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations"; other rabbis also oppose the use of Chinese organs for transplants.<ref>Mathew Wagner, , '']'', June 3, 2007</ref> | |||
International human rights lawyer ] argued Harry Wu's July 2006 article showed his views in his 21 March letter were formed before completing his investigation, so Wu's views were not based on his full investigation. Further, Harry Wu characterized the volume of organ harvesting Annie described as "technically impossible", but it is technically possible, according to medical expert.<ref name="rebuttal to Harry Wu">{{cite web | url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc158023109 | title=Appendix 16. Sujiatun | author=Matas/Kilgour | publisher=organharvestinvestigation.net | access-date=13 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211195249/http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc158023109 | archive-date=11 February 2015 | url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==Regulatory environment since 2006== | |||
In March, 2006, the Ministry of Health issued the ''Interim Provisions on Clinical Application and Management of Human Organ Transplantation'', which stipulated that medical centres must meet new requirements for transplant services; the provinces were made responsible for plans for clinical applications. Establishments performing transplantation were thereby obliged to incorporate considerations for ethics, medical and surgical expertise, and intensive care. In April 2006, the Committee of Clinical Application of Human Organ Transplantation Technologies was created to standardise clinical practice; a national summit on clinical management took place in November 2006 which issued a declaration outlining regulatory steps.<ref name=Lancet/> | |||
A Chinese government panel denied the allegations in August 2016. Huang Jiefu, chairman of the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, noted that there were 10,057 organ transplantation surgeries performed in China in 2015, accounting for 8.5 per cent of global total, and 8 per cent of drugs used globally, which matches China's national statistics.<ref name="ChinaExperts">{{cite web | url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/20/c_135617600.htm | title=Spotlight: Experts slam rumors of organ harvesting in China | author=Wang Shen | publisher=New China | access-date=24 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821183952/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-08/20/c_135617600.htm | archive-date=21 August 2016 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Michael Millis, professor of Surgery and chief of the Section of Transplantation of the University of Chicago Hospitals, corroborated that China is phasing out the organ transplantation of executed prisoners, and is moving towards a voluntary, donation-based system. José Nuñez, medical officer in charge of global organ transplantation at the WHO, noted that China is reaching global standards in organ transplantation, and believed that in a few years, China will be leading the field.<ref name=ChinaExperts/> | |||
In May 2007 the Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation came into force, banning organ trading and the removal of a person's organs without their prior written consent,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2007-04/06/content_574120.htm |title=人体器官移植条例 |publisher=www.gov.cn |accessdate=May 21, 2010 }}</ref> and this has been favourably received by the World Health Organisation and The Transplantation Society.<ref name=TTS/><ref name=Lancet/> Doctors involved in commercial trade of organs will face fines and suspensions, and only a few certified hospitals will be allowed to perform organ transplants in order to curb illegal transplants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6534363.stm|title=China issues new rules on organs|publisher=BBC News|date=April 7, 2007|accessdate=April 7, 2007}}</ref> As a result of a systematic overhaul, the number of institutions approved for transplants has been reduced from more than 600 in 2007 to 87 as at October 2008; another 77 have received provisional approval from the Ministry of Health.<ref name=Lancet/> | |||
In June 2021, the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council voiced concerns over having “received credible information that detainees from ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities may be forcibly subjected to blood tests and organ examinations such as ultrasound and x-rays, without their informed consent; while other prisoners are not required to undergo such examinations.” The press release stated that UN’s human rights experts “were extremely alarmed by reports of alleged ‘organ harvesting’ targeting minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians, in detention in China.”<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 June 2021 |title=China: UN human rights experts alarmed by 'organ harvesting' allegations |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/06/china-un-human-rights-experts-alarmed-organ-harvesting-allegations?LangID=E&NewsID=27167 |website=]}}</ref> | |||
To further combat transplant tourism, the Health Ministry issued a notice in July 2007 in line with the Istanbul Declaration, giving Chinese citizens priority as organ recipients.<ref name=Lancet/> In October 2007, after several years of discussions with the WHO, the Chinese Medical Association agreed to cease commercial organ harvesting from condemned prisoners, who would only be able to donate to their immediate relatives.<ref name="CMA"/><ref>Pact to block harvesting of inmate organs, Pg 1, '']'', October 7, 2007</ref> Other safeguards implemented under the legislation include documentation of consent for organ removal from the donor; review of all death sentences by the Supreme People’s Court. Transplant professionals are not involved until death is declared. A symposium among legal and medical professionals was held in April 2008 to discuss the diagnostic criteria for brain death for donors of transplant organs.<ref name=Lancet/> | |||
In August 2024, ] reported its interview with Cheng Pei Ming, the first known survivor of China’s forced organ harvesting.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=First Known Survivor of China's Forced Organ Harvesting Speaks Out |url=https://thediplomat.com/2024/08/first-known-survivor-of-chinas-forced-organ-harvesting-speaks-out/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Cheng, a Falun Gong practitioner, recounted how he was subjected to repeated blood tests and a subsequent forced surgery while imprisoned in China and later discovered during medical exams in the U.S. that segments of his liver and a portion of his lung had been surgically removed.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
===Organ donation programme=== | |||
The Health Ministry began establishing an organ-donation policy that will allow people to express their wishes on their driver’s licences; and participation by the Red Cross to publicise the need for ].<ref name=Lancet/> In 2008, a liver-transplant registry system was established in Shanghai, which allows the monitoring of the after-care of liver recipients; at the same time a nationwide proposal was announced that would allow people to note on their driving licence that they wish to donate their organs.<ref name=liver/> Despite these initiatives the '']'' newspaper reported in August 2009 that approximately 65% of transplanted organs still came from death row prisoners.<ref name=bbc20090826/> Condemned prisoners have been described as "not a proper source for organ transplants" by Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu, and China's first posthumous organ donation system was jointly launched in March 2010 by the ] and the Ministry of Health. Huang Jiefu announced the scheme would be trialled in 10 pilot regions including the cities of ], ] and ].<ref name="www.chinadaily.com.cn"/> Funds will be made available for the families of people who voluntarily donate their organs. If successful Chinese authorities say they hope this will reduce the need for organs taken from death row prisoners and will stem the tide of black market organs.<ref name=bbc20090826/> | |||
===Allegations of organ harvesting=== | |||
{{see also|Persecution of Uyghurs in China|Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China}} | |||
], an employee of the US government think tank ],<ref name="GutmannTestimony"/> has said that organ harvesting from ] became prevalent in the northwestern province of ] during the 1990s, when members of the Uyghur ethnic group were targeted in security crackdowns and "strike hard campaigns".<ref>Ethan Gutmann, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216022053/https://www.weeklystandard.com/ethan-gutmann/the-xinjiang-procedure |date=16 December 2018 }}, The Weekly Standard, 5 December 2011.</ref><ref>David Brooks, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125125131/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/opinion/brooks-the-sidney-awards-part-ii.html |date=25 January 2020 }}, New York Times, 22 December 2011.</ref> | |||
By 1999, Gutmann says that organ harvesting in Xinjiang began to decline precipitously, just as overall rates of organ transplantation nationwide were rising. The same year, the Chinese government launched a nationwide suppression of the ] spiritual group. Gutmann suggests that the new Falun Gong prisoner population overtook Uyghurs as a major source of organs.<ref name=Slaughter/> | |||
Worries about organ harvesting were renewed when China redoubled its attempts to stamp out extremism and separatism by interning a large portion of the population in the ].<ref name="urlChinas sick tactics used against pregnant women | Queensland Times">{{cite web |url=https://www.qt.com.au/news/sick-tactics-used-against-pregnant-women/4231841/ |title=China's sick tactics used against pregnant women | Queensland Times |format= |accessdate=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Will |title=China is harvesting thousands of human organs from its Uighur Muslim minority, UN human-rights body hears |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/china-harvesting-organs-of-uighur-muslims-china-tribunal-tells-un-2019-9 |website=www.businessinsider.com |publisher=Business Insider |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111235310/https://www.businessinsider.com/china-harvesting-organs-of-uighur-muslims-china-tribunal-tells-un-2019-9 |archive-date=11 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Batha |first1=Emma |title=U.N. urged to investigate organ harvesting |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-organ-harvesting/un-urged-to-investigate-organ-harvesting-in-china-idUSKBN1W92FL |website=www.reuters.com |agency=Reuters |access-date=22 January 2020 |date=24 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229063552/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rights-organ-harvesting/un-urged-to-investigate-organ-harvesting-in-china-idUSKBN1W92FL |archive-date=29 December 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In June 2019,<ref name="urlChina prison camps: Torture, brainwashing and organ harvesting">{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/barbaric-torture-brainwashing-and-forced-organ-removals-inside-chinas-brutal-death-camps/news-story/d249c1daedbbf1aff02f1c92744e2d78 |title=China prison camps: Torture, brainwashing and organ harvesting |format= |accessdate= |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330062337/https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/barbaric-torture-brainwashing-and-forced-organ-removals-inside-chinas-brutal-death-camps/news-story/d249c1daedbbf1aff02f1c92744e2d78 |url-status=live }}</ref> the ], an investigation into forced organ transplantation in China concluded that ] had been committed beyond reasonable doubt against China's Uyghur and Falun Gong populations, and that cutting out the hearts and other organs from living victims constitutes one of the worst mass atrocities of this century.<ref name="urlChina Tribunal: Final judgement detailed, the hearings records, submissions etc.">{{cite web |url=https://chinatribunal.com/ |title=China Tribunal: Final judgement detailed, the hearings records, submissions etc. |format= |accessdate= |archive-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104022704/https://chinatribunal.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="urlChinese doctors admitted in undercover calls that harvested organs were available, informal tribunal finds | The BMJ">{{cite journal |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m859.full |title=Chinese doctors admitted in undercover calls that harvested organs were available, informal tribunal finds | The BMJ |journal=BMJ |format= |date=3 March 2020 |volume=368 |pages=m859 |doi=10.1136/bmj.m859 |accessdate= |last1=Iacobucci |first1=Gareth |pmid=32127369 |s2cid=212403405 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415182227/https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m859.full |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In 2020, Gutmann claimed that at least 25,000 people are killed in Xinjiang for their organs each year, alleging that "fast lanes" were created to streamline the process of movement of human organs in local airports and that ] have recently been built throughout the province.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stravrou |first1=David |title=China's 'XXX Files': '25 Thousand People Disappear Each Year, Their Organs Are Harvested' |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/MAGAZINE-china-s-xinjiang-xxx-files-thousands-uighur-disappear-organs-harvested-1.9340106 |agency=Haaretz |date=3 December 2020 |url-access=subscription |access-date=11 December 2020 |archive-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212075059/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/MAGAZINE-china-s-xinjiang-xxx-files-thousands-uighur-disappear-organs-harvested-1.9340106 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="urlCommittee News Release - October 21, 2020 - SDIR (43-2) - House of Commons of Canada">{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/SDIR/news-release/10903199 |title=Committee News Release - October 21, 2020 - SDIR (43-2) - House of Commons of Canada |format= |accessdate= |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024021902/https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/SDIR/news-release/10903199 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Radio Free Asia">{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/crematorium-11132020144027.html|title=Internment Camps in Xinjiang's Aksu Separated by Crematorium — Radio Free Asia|date=13 November 2020|accessdate=5 April 2021|publisher=]|archive-date=7 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407102138/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/crematorium-11132020144027.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
==Developments since 2006== | |||
In March 2006, the Ministry of Health issued the ''Interim Provisions on Clinical Application and Management of Human Organ Transplantation'', which stipulated that medical centres must meet new requirements for transplant services; the provinces were made responsible for plans for clinical applications. Establishments performing transplantation were thereby obliged to incorporate considerations for ethics, medical and surgical expertise, and intensive care. In April 2006, the Committee of Clinical Application of Human Organ Transplantation Technologies was created to standardise clinical practice; a national summit on clinical management took place in November 2006 which issued a declaration outlining regulatory steps.<ref name=Lancet/> Professor Guo Shuzhong conducted a series of ] experiments in Xijing hospital, leading in April 2006 to the world's first face transplant that included bone.<ref name=bone/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9010-worlds-second-face-transplant-performed-in-china.html |title=World's second face transplant performed in China – health – 18 April 2006 |work=New Scientist |access-date=24 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925185654/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9010-worlds-second-face-transplant-performed-in-china.html |archive-date=25 September 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> The donor had been declared brain-dead before the operation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/2210/63 |title=Chinese Man Gets World's Second Face Transplant |publisher=health.dailynewscentral.com |access-date=25 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927095634/http://health.dailynewscentral.com/content/view/2210/63 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
In May 2007, the Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation came into force, banning organ trading and the removal of a person's organs without their prior written consent,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2007-04/06/content_574120.htm |title=人体器官移植条例 |publisher=gov.cn |access-date=21 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100304114110/http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2007-04/06/content_574120.htm |archive-date=4 March 2010 |url-status=live }} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905011855/http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http:%2F%2Fwww.gov.cn%2Fzwgk%2F2007-04%2F06%2Fcontent_574120.htm&sl=zh-CN&tl=en |date=5 September 2014 }}. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> and this has been favourably received by the World Health Organization and The Transplantation Society.<ref name=Lancet/><ref name=TTS/> To curb illegal transplants, doctors involved in commercial trade of organs will face fines and suspensions; only a few hospitals will be certified to perform organ transplants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6534363.stm|title=China issues new rules on organs|work=BBC News|date=7 April 2007|access-date=7 April 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415230938/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6534363.stm|archive-date=15 April 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of a systematic overhaul, the number of institutions approved for transplants has been reduced from more than 600 in 2007 to 87 as at October 2008; another 77 have received provisional approval from the Ministry of Health.<ref name=Lancet/> | |||
To further combat transplant tourism, the Health Ministry issued a notice in July 2007 in line with the Istanbul Declaration, giving Chinese citizens priority as organ recipients.<ref name=Lancet/> In October 2007, after several years of discussions with the WHO, the Chinese Medical Association agreed to cease commercial organ collection from condemned prisoners, who would only be able to donate to their immediate relatives.<ref name="CMA"/><ref>Pact to block harvesting of inmate organs, Pg 1, '']'', 7 October 2007</ref> Other safeguards implemented under the legislation include documentation of consent for organ removal from the donor, and review of all death sentences by the Supreme People's Court. Transplant professionals are not involved until death is declared. A symposium among legal and medical professionals was held in April 2008 to discuss the diagnostic criteria for brain death for donors of transplant organs.<ref name=Lancet/> | |||
A liver-transplant registry system was established in Shanghai, in 2008, which allows the monitoring of the after-care of liver recipients; at the same time a nationwide proposal was announced that would allow people to note on their driving licence that they wish to donate their organs.<ref name=liver/> Despite these initiatives '']'' reported in August 2009 that approximately 65% of transplanted organs still came from death row prisoners,<ref name=bbc20090826/> which has been described as "not a proper source for organ transplants" by Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu.<ref name="www.chinadaily.com.cn"/> China's first posthumous ] system was jointly launched in March 2010 by the ] and the Ministry of Health.<ref name=Lancet/> Huang Jiefu announced that the scheme, which will allow people to express their wishes on their driver's licences, would be trialled in 10 pilot regions including the cities of ], ] and ].<ref name="www.chinadaily.com.cn"/> Funds will be made available for the families of people who voluntarily donate their organs. Chinese authorities say they hope the pilot program's success will reduce the need to take organs from death row prisoners and stem the tide of black market organs.<ref name=bbc20090826/> In 2012 China officials stated they plan to phase out organ harvesting of death-row inmates.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817035435/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304724404577298661625345898 |date=17 August 2017 }} 23 March 2012</ref> | |||
In September 2012, the report ''Organ Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party''<ref name=OHRPD/> presented to the members of a US Congress Subcommittee by Damon Noto, the spokesperson for the organization Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, opined: "Medical doctors outside China have confirmed that their patients have gone to China and received organs from Falun Gong practitioners".<ref name=Damon>Damon Noto, M.D., {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141206011518/http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/112/HHRG-112-FA17-WState-NotoD-20120912.pdf |date=6 December 2014 }}, ], 12 September 2012</ref> | |||
The Hangzhou resolution was promulgated in front of the 2013 China National Transplantation Congress on 31 October 2013 and was presented on 2 November 2013. The resolution vows for the cessation of the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners. While not all transplantation facilities have adopted the resolution, a campaign to eradicate inmate organ harvesting is underway.<ref name=hangzhouresolution>{{cite web|title=The Hangzhou Resolution and Report of Meeting with Minister Bin Li of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China|url=http://www.declarationofistanbul.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=424:the-hangzhou-resolution-and-report-of-meeting-with-minister-bin-li-of-the-national-health-and-family-planning-commission-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china&catid=50:articles-relevant-to-the-declaration&Itemid=67|publisher=Declaration of Istanbul|access-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110221858/http://www.declarationofistanbul.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=424:the-hangzhou-resolution-and-report-of-meeting-with-minister-bin-li-of-the-national-health-and-family-planning-commission-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china&catid=50:articles-relevant-to-the-declaration&Itemid=67|archive-date=10 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In June 2021, Special Rapporteurs to the United Nations Human Rights Council stated that they "were extremely alarmed by reports of alleged 'organ harvesting' targeting minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians, in detention in China". The Rapporteurs stated that they had "received credible information" of forced blood tests and organ examinations of "ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities" that were not forced on other prisoners. The Rapporteurs called for "China to promptly respond to the allegations of 'organ harvesting' and to allow independent monitoring by international human rights mechanisms".<ref>{{cite web |title=China: UN human rights experts alarmed by 'organ harvesting' allegations |url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27167&LangID=E |website=] |publisher=United Nations |date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117174225/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27167&LangID=E |archive-date=2021-11-17|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
===Allegations of data falsification=== | |||
Beginning in 2010, Chinese authorities announced that the country would transition away from the use of prisoners as an organ source, and would rely entirely on voluntary donations coordinated through a centralized registry. By 2015, officials asserted that voluntary donors were the sole source for organ transplants in China. However, critics have pointed to evidence of systematic falsification of data related to voluntary organ donations, casting doubt on reform claims.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lawson |first1=Kirsten |title=ANU study says China deliberately falsifying data on organ transplants |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6493026/study-accuses-china-of-fiddling-data-on-organ-transplants/ |access-date=19 May 2020 |publisher=The Canberra Times |date=15 November 2019 |archive-date=20 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520120537/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6493026/study-accuses-china-of-fiddling-data-on-organ-transplants/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In a paper published in the journal ''BMC Medical Ethics'', for instance, researchers analyzed data on voluntary organ transplants from 2010 to 2018. Datasets were drawn from two national sources, several sub-national jurisdictions, and individual Chinese hospitals. The researchers found compelling evidence of "human-directed data manufacture and manipulation" in the national datasets, as well as "contradictory, implausible, or anomalous data artefacts" in the provincial datasets, which suggests that the data "may have been manipulated to enforce conformity with central quotas." Among the findings was that the purported rate of growth in voluntary donations was derived from a simple quadratic equation, with nearly perfect model parsimony. These findings appear to undermine official claims about the extent of voluntary organ donations in China.<ref name=":0" /> The authors of the ''BMC Medical Ethics'' article also note that China's model parsimony is one to two orders of magnitude smoother than any other nation's, even those that have experienced rapid growth in their organ transplantation sector.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robertson |first1=Matthew P. |title=Examining China's Organ Transplantation System: The Nexus of Security, Medicine, and Predation / Part 2: Evidence for the Harvesting of Organs from Prisoners of Conscience |journal=Jamestown Foundation, China Brief |date=15 May 2020 |volume=20 |issue=9 |url=https://jamestown.org/program/examining-chinas-organ-transplantation-system-the-nexus-of-security-medicine-and-predation-part-2-evidence-for-the-harvesting-of-organs-from-prisoners-of-conscience/ |access-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521140418/https://jamestown.org/program/examining-chinas-organ-transplantation-system-the-nexus-of-security-medicine-and-predation-part-2-evidence-for-the-harvesting-of-organs-from-prisoners-of-conscience/ |archive-date=21 May 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
== Wait times == | |||
China has by far the shortest wait times for organ transplants in the world,<ref>{{cite book|last=Matas|first=David|title=The Ethics of Organ Transplantation|year=2011|publisher=Catholic University of America Press|isbn=978-0-8132-1874-8|page=234|editor=Steven J. Jensen}}</ref> and there is evidence that the execution of prisoners for their organs is "timed for the convenience of the waiting recipient."<ref>{{cite news|last=Caplan|first=Arthur|title=Time for a boycott of Chinese science and medicine pertaining to organ transplantation|url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61536-5/fulltext#bib3|access-date=14 March 2014|newspaper=The Lancet|date=1 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904014107/http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61536-5/fulltext#bib3|archive-date=4 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2006}}, organ tourists to China report receiving kidney transplants within days of arriving in China.<ref name="atimes">{{cite news|last=David McNeill and Clifford Coonan|title=Japanese flock to China for organ transplants|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HD04Ad01.html|accessdate=14 March 2014|newspaper=Asia Times Online|date=4 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427235038/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HD04Ad01.html|archive-date=27 April 2014}}</ref> A report produced by David Matas and David Kilgour cites the China International Transplantation Assistant Centre website as saying "it may take only one week to find out the suitable (kidney) donor, the maximum time being one month..."<ref name=orgharv/> It is possible for international buyers to schedule their surgeries in advance which is not possible in systems which rely on voluntary organ donation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elliott |first1=Tim |title='Crimes against humanity': is China killing political prisoners for their organs? |url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/crimes-against-humanity-is-china-killing-political-prisoners-for-their-organs-20191105-p537md.html |website=www.smh.com.au |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=22 January 2020 |date=8 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207090244/https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/crimes-against-humanity-is-china-killing-political-prisoners-for-their-organs-20191105-p537md.html |archive-date=7 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
By way of comparison, the median waiting time for an organ transplantation in Australia is six months to four years.<ref name=auswaitingtime>{{cite web |url=http://www.donatelife.gov.au/discover/facts-a-statistics |title=Australian Organ & Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority – Facts & Statistics |publisher=DonateLife |access-date=28 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703101042/http://www.donatelife.gov.au/discover/facts-a-statistics |archive-date=3 July 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Canada, it is six years {{as of|2011|lc=on}}.<ref name=canadawaitingtime>{{cite news |author=Canada |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/transplant-waiting-lists-and-dialysis-costs-grow-as-kidney-supply-lags-behind/article569465/ |title=Transplant waiting lists and dialysis costs grow as kidney supply lags behind |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=28 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106114544/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/transplant-waiting-lists-and-dialysis-costs-grow-as-kidney-supply-lags-behind/article569465/ |archive-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the UK, it is three years.<ref name=waittimeuk>{{Cite web |url=http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/statistics/centre-specific_reports/pdf/waiting_time_to_transplant.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903084007/http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ukt/statistics/centre-specific_reports/pdf/waiting_time_to_transplant.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
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Organ transplantation in China has taken place since the 1960s, and is one of the largest organ transplant programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 liver and kidney transplants a year in 2004.
Involuntary organ harvesting is illegal under Chinese law. Growing concerns about possible ethical abuses arising from coerced consent and corruption led medical groups and human rights organizations, by the 1990s, to condemn the practice. These concerns resurfaced in 2001, when a Chinese asylum-seeking doctor testified that he had taken part in organ extraction operations.
In 2006, allegations emerged that many Falun Gong practitioners had been killed to supply China's organ transplant industry. An initial investigation stated "the source of 41,500 transplants for the six year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained" and concluded that "there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners".
In December 2005, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplants was widespread. In 2007, China issued regulations banning the commercial trading of organs, and the Chinese Medical Association agreed that the organs of prisoners should not be used for transplantation, except for members of the immediate family of the deceased. In 2008, a liver-transplant registry system was established in Shanghai, along with a nationwide proposal to incorporate information on individual driving permits for those wishing to donate their organs.
Despite these initiatives, China Daily reported in August 2009 that approximately 65% of transplanted organs still came from death row prisoners. The condemned prisoners have been described as "not a proper source for organ transplants" by Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu, and in March 2010, he announced the trial of China's first organ donation program starting after death, jointly run by the Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Health, in 10 pilot regions. In 2013, Huang Jiefu altered his position on utilizing prisoners' organs, stating that death row prisoners should be allowed to donate organs and should be integrated into the new computer-based organ allocation system. In 2018 and 2019, media investigations and academic analysis into these allegations increased. In August 2024, media outlets reported on the first known survivor of China’s forced organ harvesting.
Background
Globally, pioneering experimental studies in the surgical technique of human organ transplantation were made in the early 1900s by the French surgeon Alexis Carrel, and successful transplants starting spreading worldwide after the Second World War.
China itself began organ transplantation in the 1960s, which grew to an annual peak of over 13,000 transplants in 2004; and, despite some deaths from infection and hepatitis, the transplant programme has been successful in saving many lives. Though the number of transplants fell to under 11,000 annually by 2005, China still has one of the largest transplant programmes in the world. China explores innovative surgery, such as the world's first flesh and bone face transplant, performed by Professor Guo Shuzhong. Organ donation, however, has met resistance, and involuntary organ donation is illegal under Chinese law, as it is against Chinese tradition and culture, which attach symbolic life affirming importance to the kidney and heart.
China is not alone in encountering donation difficulties; demand outstrips supply in most countries. The world-wide shortage has encouraged some countries—such as India—to trade in human organs. Reports of organs being removed from executed prisoners in China for sale internationally had been circulating since the mid-1980s, when a 1984 regulation made it legal to harvest organs from convicted criminals with the consent of the family or if the body goes unclaimed. Development of an immunosuppressant drug, cyclosporine A, made transplants a more viable option for patients.
Milestones
The first living related renal transplant was performed in China in 1972; the first allogeneic bone marrow transplantation was successfully executed in an acute leukaemia patient. The first recorded clinical liver transplant from a living donor in China took place in 1995, seven years after the world's first was performed in São Paulo, Brazil. Between January 2001 and October 2003, 45 patients received living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) at five different hospitals. In 2002, doctors at Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University described three cases of living related liver transplantation. In 2003 a landmark brain-death case involving switched off ventilation came to the attention of the public and made a big impact on medical ethics and legislation. The first successful brain-death organ donation soon followed. From October 2003 to July 2006, 52 LDLT operations were conducted at the West China Hospital, West China Medical Center of Sichuan University. In October 2004, Peking University People's Hospital Liver Transplantation Center executed two cases of living related liver transplantation involving complex blood vessel anatomy. In 2002, the Chinese media reported surgeon Dr Zheng Wei successfully transplanted a whole ovary at the Zhejiang Medical Science University to a 34-year-old patient, Tang Fangfang, from her sister. In April 2006, the Xijing military hospital in Xian carried out a face transplant operation covering the cheek, upper lip, and nose of Li Guoxing, who was mauled by an Asiatic black bear while protecting his sheep.
The first successful penis transplant procedure was performed in September 2006, at a military hospital in Guangzhou. The patient, a 44-year-old male, had sustained the loss of most of his penis in an accident. The transplanted penis came from a brain-dead 22-year-old male. Although successful, the patient and his wife suffered psychological trauma as a result of the procedure, and had the surgery reversed fifteen days later. Following this, Jean-Michel Dubernard, famous for performing the world's first face transplant, wrote that the case "raises many questions and has some critics". He alluded to a double standard writing, "I cannot imagine what would have been the reactions of the medical profession, ethics specialists, and the media if a European surgical team had performed the same operation."
International concerns
Organs sourced from prisoners sentenced to death
Transplantation first began in the early 1970s China, when organs were sourced from executed prisoners. Although other sources, such as brain-dead donors, had been tried, the lack of legal framework hampered efforts. Dr Klaus Chen said in 2007 that this was still the dominant pool. The Laogai Research Foundation website have a portal to display the relationship between execution and organ market in China. Concerns that some poorer countries were answering donor shortages by selling organs to richer countries led the World Medical Association (WMA) to condemn the purchase and sale of human organs for transplantation at Brussels in 1985, in 1987 and at Stockholm in 1994.
In Madrid in 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the practice of extracting organs from executed prisoners due to the difficulty of knowing if they had given consent. Growing concern led other professional societies and human rights organisations to condemn the practice in the 1990s, and to question the way in which the organs were obtained. The WHO starting drafting an international guideline (WHA44.25) on human organ transplants in 1987 which resulted in the WHO Guiding Principles on Human Organ Transplantation being endorsed in 1991. However, the wording did not allow the international community to draw up any laws preventing China from continuing to trade in human organs.
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations convened a hearing in 1995 on the trade in human body parts in China; receiving evidence from various sources including statements from Amnesty International, the BBC, and Chinese government documents produced by human rights activist Harry Wu.
The WMA, the Korean Medical Association, and the Chinese Medical Association reached an agreement in 1998 that these practices were undesirable and that they would jointly investigate them with a view to stopping them; however, in 2000, the Chinese withdrew their cooperation. Amnesty International claimed to have strong evidence that the police, courts, and hospitals were complicit in the organ trade, facilitated by the use of mobile execution chambers, or "death vans". Amnesty speculated that this profitable trade might explain China's refusal to consider abolishing the death penalty, which is used on between 1,770 (official figure) and 8,000 (Amnesty estimates) prisoners annually. Corpses are typically cremated before relatives or independent witnesses can view them, fuelling suspicions about the fate of internal organs.
In June 2001, Wang Guoqi (王國齊), a Chinese doctor applying for political asylum, made contact with Harry Wu and his Laogai Research Foundation, who assisted Wang in testifying to the US Congress in writing that he had removed skin and corneas from more than 100 executed prisoners for the transplant market at the Tianjin Paramilitary Police General Brigade Hospital, and that during at least one such operation the prisoner was still breathing. Wang, a "burns specialist", said that he had also seen other doctors remove vital organs from executed prisoners; and the hospital where he worked sold those organs to foreigners. Harry Wu said that he had gone to "great lengths" to verify Wang's identity and that both the foundation and congressional staff members found the doctor's statements "highly credible".
In December 2005, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplant was widespread—as many as 95% of all organ transplants in China derived from executions, and he promised steps to prevent abuse. In 2006, the WMA demanded that China cease using prisoners as organ donors. According to Time, a transplant brokerage in Japan which organised 30–50 operations annually sourced its organs from executed prisoners in China. Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the European Parliament, said he believed that nearly 400 hospitals in China had been involved in the transplant organ trade, with websites advertising kidney transplants for $60,000.
On the eve of a state visit to the United States by President Hu Jintao, the 800-member British Transplantation Society also criticised China's use of death-row prisoners' organs in transplants, on the grounds that as it is impossible to verify that organs are indeed from prisoners who have given consent; the WMA once again condemned the practice on similar grounds. A BBC news report by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in September 2006 showed negotiations with doctors in No 1 Central Hospital in Tianjin for a liver transplant.
2017 announcement
In February 2017, CGTN quoted former vice health minister Huang Jiefu as saying "From January 1, 2015, organ donation from voluntary civilian organ donors has become the only legitimate source of organ transplantations", and Francis Delmonico interpreting this as a ban on "the use of organs from executed prisoners" in January 2015.
Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners
See also: Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China and Persecution of Falun Gong § Organ harvestingIn 2006, allegations that Falun Gong practitioners had been killed to supply China's organ transplant industry prompted an investigation by former Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas. In July 2006, the Kilgour–Matas report questioned "the source of 41,500 transplants for the six year period 2000 to 2005" and thereby inferred that "the government of China and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention centres and 'people's courts', since 1999 have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience".
The authors of the Kilgour–Matas report reached their conclusion via circumstantial evidence and inference from this evidence. It included observations of the extremely short wait times for organs in China compared with other countries, indicating that organs were being procured on demand; the rise in the number of annual organ transplants in China corresponded with the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong. An updated version of their report was published as a book in 2009.
In 2014, investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann published the results of his own investigation. Gutmann conducted extensive interviews around with former detainees in Chinese labor camps and prisons, as well as former security officers and medical professionals with knowledge of China's transplant practices. He reported that organ harvesting from political prisoners likely began in Xinjiang province in the 1990s, and then spread nationwide. Gutmann estimates that some 64,000 Falun Gong prisoners may have been killed for their organs between 2000 and 2008.
In December 2006, after not getting assurances from the Chinese government about allegations relating to Chinese prisoners, the two major organ transplant hospitals in Queensland, Australia, stopped transplant training for Chinese surgeons and banned joint research programs into organ transplantation with China.
In July 2006 and April 2007, Chinese officials denied organ harvesting allegations, insisting that China abides by World Health Organization (WHO) principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors.
In May 2008 two United Nations Special Rapporteurs reiterated their previous request for the Chinese authorities to adequately respond to the allegations, and to explain the source of organs which would account for the sudden increase in organ transplants in China since 2000.
On 12 September 2012, the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the topic of organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China. During the hearing, Gutmann described his interviews with former Chinese prisoners, surgeons and nurses with knowledge of organ harvesting practices.
In 2012, State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China, edited by David Matas and Dr. Torsten Trey, was published with essays by Dr. Gabriel Danovitch, Professor of Medicine, Arthur Caplan, Professor of Bioethics, Dr. Jacob Lavee, cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Ghazali Ahmad, Professor Maria Fiatarone Singh, Dr. Torsten Trey, Gutmann and Matas.
Harry Wu, a human rights activist, has questioned the Falun Gong's claims that Falun Gong members are specifically targeted for large-scale organ harvesting.
International human rights lawyer David Matas argued Harry Wu's July 2006 article showed his views in his 21 March letter were formed before completing his investigation, so Wu's views were not based on his full investigation. Further, Harry Wu characterized the volume of organ harvesting Annie described as "technically impossible", but it is technically possible, according to medical expert.
A Chinese government panel denied the allegations in August 2016. Huang Jiefu, chairman of the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, noted that there were 10,057 organ transplantation surgeries performed in China in 2015, accounting for 8.5 per cent of global total, and 8 per cent of drugs used globally, which matches China's national statistics. Michael Millis, professor of Surgery and chief of the Section of Transplantation of the University of Chicago Hospitals, corroborated that China is phasing out the organ transplantation of executed prisoners, and is moving towards a voluntary, donation-based system. José Nuñez, medical officer in charge of global organ transplantation at the WHO, noted that China is reaching global standards in organ transplantation, and believed that in a few years, China will be leading the field.
In June 2021, the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council voiced concerns over having “received credible information that detainees from ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities may be forcibly subjected to blood tests and organ examinations such as ultrasound and x-rays, without their informed consent; while other prisoners are not required to undergo such examinations.” The press release stated that UN’s human rights experts “were extremely alarmed by reports of alleged ‘organ harvesting’ targeting minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians, in detention in China.”
In August 2024, The Diplomat reported its interview with Cheng Pei Ming, the first known survivor of China’s forced organ harvesting. Cheng, a Falun Gong practitioner, recounted how he was subjected to repeated blood tests and a subsequent forced surgery while imprisoned in China and later discovered during medical exams in the U.S. that segments of his liver and a portion of his lung had been surgically removed.
Allegations of organ harvesting
See also: Persecution of Uyghurs in China and Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in ChinaEthan Gutmann, an employee of the US government think tank Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, has said that organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience became prevalent in the northwestern province of Xinjiang during the 1990s, when members of the Uyghur ethnic group were targeted in security crackdowns and "strike hard campaigns".
By 1999, Gutmann says that organ harvesting in Xinjiang began to decline precipitously, just as overall rates of organ transplantation nationwide were rising. The same year, the Chinese government launched a nationwide suppression of the Falun Gong spiritual group. Gutmann suggests that the new Falun Gong prisoner population overtook Uyghurs as a major source of organs.
Worries about organ harvesting were renewed when China redoubled its attempts to stamp out extremism and separatism by interning a large portion of the population in the Xinjiang internment camps.
In June 2019, the China Tribunal, an investigation into forced organ transplantation in China concluded that crimes against humanity had been committed beyond reasonable doubt against China's Uyghur and Falun Gong populations, and that cutting out the hearts and other organs from living victims constitutes one of the worst mass atrocities of this century.
In 2020, Gutmann claimed that at least 25,000 people are killed in Xinjiang for their organs each year, alleging that "fast lanes" were created to streamline the process of movement of human organs in local airports and that crematoria have recently been built throughout the province.
Developments since 2006
In March 2006, the Ministry of Health issued the Interim Provisions on Clinical Application and Management of Human Organ Transplantation, which stipulated that medical centres must meet new requirements for transplant services; the provinces were made responsible for plans for clinical applications. Establishments performing transplantation were thereby obliged to incorporate considerations for ethics, medical and surgical expertise, and intensive care. In April 2006, the Committee of Clinical Application of Human Organ Transplantation Technologies was created to standardise clinical practice; a national summit on clinical management took place in November 2006 which issued a declaration outlining regulatory steps. Professor Guo Shuzhong conducted a series of face transplant experiments in Xijing hospital, leading in April 2006 to the world's first face transplant that included bone. The donor had been declared brain-dead before the operation.
In May 2007, the Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation came into force, banning organ trading and the removal of a person's organs without their prior written consent, and this has been favourably received by the World Health Organization and The Transplantation Society. To curb illegal transplants, doctors involved in commercial trade of organs will face fines and suspensions; only a few hospitals will be certified to perform organ transplants. As a result of a systematic overhaul, the number of institutions approved for transplants has been reduced from more than 600 in 2007 to 87 as at October 2008; another 77 have received provisional approval from the Ministry of Health.
To further combat transplant tourism, the Health Ministry issued a notice in July 2007 in line with the Istanbul Declaration, giving Chinese citizens priority as organ recipients. In October 2007, after several years of discussions with the WHO, the Chinese Medical Association agreed to cease commercial organ collection from condemned prisoners, who would only be able to donate to their immediate relatives. Other safeguards implemented under the legislation include documentation of consent for organ removal from the donor, and review of all death sentences by the Supreme People's Court. Transplant professionals are not involved until death is declared. A symposium among legal and medical professionals was held in April 2008 to discuss the diagnostic criteria for brain death for donors of transplant organs.
A liver-transplant registry system was established in Shanghai, in 2008, which allows the monitoring of the after-care of liver recipients; at the same time a nationwide proposal was announced that would allow people to note on their driving licence that they wish to donate their organs. Despite these initiatives China Daily reported in August 2009 that approximately 65% of transplanted organs still came from death row prisoners, which has been described as "not a proper source for organ transplants" by Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu. China's first posthumous organ donation system was jointly launched in March 2010 by the Red Cross and the Ministry of Health. Huang Jiefu announced that the scheme, which will allow people to express their wishes on their driver's licences, would be trialled in 10 pilot regions including the cities of Tianjin, Wuhan and Shenzhen. Funds will be made available for the families of people who voluntarily donate their organs. Chinese authorities say they hope the pilot program's success will reduce the need to take organs from death row prisoners and stem the tide of black market organs. In 2012 China officials stated they plan to phase out organ harvesting of death-row inmates.
In September 2012, the report Organ Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party presented to the members of a US Congress Subcommittee by Damon Noto, the spokesperson for the organization Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, opined: "Medical doctors outside China have confirmed that their patients have gone to China and received organs from Falun Gong practitioners".
The Hangzhou resolution was promulgated in front of the 2013 China National Transplantation Congress on 31 October 2013 and was presented on 2 November 2013. The resolution vows for the cessation of the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners. While not all transplantation facilities have adopted the resolution, a campaign to eradicate inmate organ harvesting is underway.
In June 2021, Special Rapporteurs to the United Nations Human Rights Council stated that they "were extremely alarmed by reports of alleged 'organ harvesting' targeting minorities, including Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims and Christians, in detention in China". The Rapporteurs stated that they had "received credible information" of forced blood tests and organ examinations of "ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities" that were not forced on other prisoners. The Rapporteurs called for "China to promptly respond to the allegations of 'organ harvesting' and to allow independent monitoring by international human rights mechanisms".
Allegations of data falsification
Beginning in 2010, Chinese authorities announced that the country would transition away from the use of prisoners as an organ source, and would rely entirely on voluntary donations coordinated through a centralized registry. By 2015, officials asserted that voluntary donors were the sole source for organ transplants in China. However, critics have pointed to evidence of systematic falsification of data related to voluntary organ donations, casting doubt on reform claims.
In a paper published in the journal BMC Medical Ethics, for instance, researchers analyzed data on voluntary organ transplants from 2010 to 2018. Datasets were drawn from two national sources, several sub-national jurisdictions, and individual Chinese hospitals. The researchers found compelling evidence of "human-directed data manufacture and manipulation" in the national datasets, as well as "contradictory, implausible, or anomalous data artefacts" in the provincial datasets, which suggests that the data "may have been manipulated to enforce conformity with central quotas." Among the findings was that the purported rate of growth in voluntary donations was derived from a simple quadratic equation, with nearly perfect model parsimony. These findings appear to undermine official claims about the extent of voluntary organ donations in China. The authors of the BMC Medical Ethics article also note that China's model parsimony is one to two orders of magnitude smoother than any other nation's, even those that have experienced rapid growth in their organ transplantation sector.
Wait times
China has by far the shortest wait times for organ transplants in the world, and there is evidence that the execution of prisoners for their organs is "timed for the convenience of the waiting recipient." As of 2006, organ tourists to China report receiving kidney transplants within days of arriving in China. A report produced by David Matas and David Kilgour cites the China International Transplantation Assistant Centre website as saying "it may take only one week to find out the suitable (kidney) donor, the maximum time being one month..." It is possible for international buyers to schedule their surgeries in advance which is not possible in systems which rely on voluntary organ donation.
By way of comparison, the median waiting time for an organ transplantation in Australia is six months to four years. In Canada, it is six years as of 2011. In the UK, it is three years.
See also
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