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China admits death row organ use
China executes more people than any other nation
China is trying to move away from the use of executed prisoners as the major
source of organs for transplants
According to the China Daily newspaper, executed prisoners currently provide twothirds of all transplant organs. The government is now launching a voluntary donation
scheme, which it hopes will also curb the illegal trafficking in organs. But analysts say
cultural bias against removing organs after death will make a voluntary scheme hard to
implement.
Thriving black market
About 1.5 million people in China need transplants, but only about 10,000 operations are
performed annually, according to the health ministry. The scarcity of available organs
has led to a thriving black market in trafficked organs, and in an effort to stop this; the
government passed a law in 2007 banning trafficking as well as the donation of organs
to unrelated recipients.
But in practice, illegal transplants - some from living donors - are still frequently
reported by the media and the Ministry of Health. Human rights groups have often
criticized China for its lack of transparency over organ donation, but critics have focused
particular concern on the use of body parts from executed prisoners. In a rare admission
of the extent to which this takes place, China Daily - citing unnamed experts - said on
Wednesday that more than 65% of organ donations come from death row prisoners.
China executes more people than any other country. Amnesty International said at least
1,718 people were given the death penalty in 2008.
The China Daily quoted Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu as saying that condemned
prisoners were "definitely not a proper source for organ transplants". The new scheme is
therefore designed to reduce the reliance on death row inmates, as well as regulating the
industry by combating the illegal trafficking of organs. The system will be piloted in 10
provinces and cities, and a fund will be started to provide financial aid to donors'
families.
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