Asia-Pacific News
China issues new regulation banning trade in human organs
Apr 6, 2007, 15:42 GMT
Beijing - China on Friday issued a new regulation to control the use transplant surgery and ban all trading in human organs, following allegations in recent years that many transplanted organs were taken from executed prisoners.
The regulation was issued by the State Council or cabinet and takes effect from May 1, state media said.
The draft regulation was approved last month and says that the donation of organs should respect the will of donors and be conducted voluntarily.
The regulation was drafted 'in accordance with worldwide recognized medical ethics' and the World Health Organization's basic rules on human organ transplants, the government said earlier.
China has admitted that organs for transplant are taken from some of the thousands of prisoners executed annually, but it says this is only done with the consent of the prisoners or their families.
Foreign doctors and politicians have accused China of allowing executed prisoners' organs to be sold for 'transplant tourism' to the country.
China faces a huge gap between the patients who need functional organs and the limited number of donations.
About 1.5 million patients need organ transplants each year, but only 10,000 can find organs, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health.
Most organs in China are donated by ordinary citizens upon their death after the voluntary signing of donation agreements, the government said recently.
The new regulation also sets out strict supervision and management requirements for medical institutes carrying out human organ transplants.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
The chinese will probably sell body parts they obtain from 3rd world countries.
Slit out the back, Jack;
Make a new 'tran-plan;
no need to be 'joy, boy;
just listen to me!
Hop on the sword, Hoard;
(no need to discuss much...),
just drop off the KidNee,
and let yourself 'free.'
Human Rights Watch advocates are right to be concerned about China’s new rules on organ trafficking and they’re not the only ones. Earlier this year two Canadian lawyers reported that Chinese doctors and the military are heavily involved in illicit organ harvesting and transplant tourism in China. Their study revealed that from 2000 to 2005, there were 41,500 organs of unknown origin transplanted in China--the unwilling donors being Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. I admit this is horrific news and no small accusation but China dismissed the report ‘out of hand’ refusing the research team entry to China. Hmm! Make no mistake--these rules may look like a step in the right direction for the most part but it is obvious that their purpose is to gloss China's image before the 2008 Olympics. If we keep on relying on data derived from transplantations performed in China along with loose regulations to remedy this macabre practice, I’m afraid we will simply fail the test time and
again. Meanwhile the killing goes on unabated. 'All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing': Edmund Burke said. Please think twice before rushing to get a kidney in China.
Read ‘Bloody Harvest’ online by Kilgour and Matas and form your own opinion.
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SP4: wow! that only took 50 years!Apr 6th, 2007 - 15:51:27
They really steeped up on that one! How will they pay for their prison system now?
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