View source for Organ transplantation in China

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{{Update|date=August 2016}}
{{Lead rewrite|date=October 2023}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2010}}
[[File:Transplants.png|thumb|350px|alt=Kidney transplants rose from about 3,000 in 1997 to 11,000 in 2004, falling to 6,000 in 2007. Liver transplants rose from a few hundred in 2000 to 3,500 in 2005, then dropped to 2,000 in 2007|Trend in [[Kidney transplantation|kidney]] and [[liver transplant]]s in the People's Republic of China (1997–2007)<ref>[http://www.thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/Health-System-Reform-in-China-CMT-11.pdf Government policy and organ transplantation in China] {{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 [[organ transplant]] programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 liver and kidney transplants a year in 2004.<ref name=Lancet/>

Involuntary [[organ harvesting]]<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> was once legal on criminals, but outlawed in 2015. <ref>{{cite web|author1=黎凤|title=器官移植停用死刑犯器官之后|url=http://zhenhua.163.com/15/0104/20/AF53869Q0004662J.html|website=网易新闻|accessdate=2017-06-28|language=zh-cn|date=2015-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164705/http://zhenhua.163.com/15/0104/20/AF53869Q0004662J.html|archive-date=2018-03-01}}</ref>  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>[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/29/world/doctor-says-he-took-transplant-organs-from-executed-chinese-prisoners.html "Doctor Says He Took Transplant Organs From Executed Chinese Prisoners"] {{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 [[Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China|Falun Gong practitioners had been killed to supply China's organ transplant industry]].<ref name=orgharv/><ref name=CGOH>Gutmann, Ethan.  [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp "China’s Gruesome Organ Harvest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017095219/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp |date=17 October 2015 }}, [[The Weekly Standard]], 24 November 2008</ref> An initial [[Kilgour–Matas report|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".<ref name=orgharv/>

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 [[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.<ref name=CMA>Press release, [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/84754.php "Chinese Medical Association Reaches Agreement With World Medical Association Against Transplantation Of {{sic|Pris|ioners's|nolink=y}} Organs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090602050838/http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/84754.php |date=2 June 2009 }}, ''[[Medical News Today]]'', 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, ''[[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,<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 [[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.<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==
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.<ref name=Geneva>[http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/1991/9241693045.pdf HUMAN ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION – A Report on Developments Under the Auspices of WHO (1987–1991)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021045403/http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/1991/9241693045.pdf |date=21 October 2014 }}, page 7, [[World Health Organization]], Geneva, 1991</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>[http://www.thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/Health-System-Reform-in-China-CMT-11.pdf "Health-System-Reform-in-China"] {{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]]'', 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>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1411389.stm "China fury at organ snatching '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=[[Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine]] |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>

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, [http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article2612313.ece "China to 'tidy up' trade in executed prisoners' organs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305100023/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article2612313.ece |date=5 March 2016 }}, ''[[The Times]]'', 3 December 2005</ref> Development of an immunosuppressant drug, [[cyclosporine A]], 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>

==Milestones==
The first living related [[renal transplant]] was performed in China in 1972;<ref name=chen/> the first allogeneic [[bone marrow transplantation]] was successfully executed in an acute leukaemia patient.<ref>Dr LU Daopei, [http://www.hkmj.org/article_pdfs/hkm0906sp3p9.pdf "Blood and marrow transplantation in mainland China (Supplement 3)"] {{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 [[Living donor liver transplantation|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.<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). [http://www.cityu.edu.hk/garc/ARC/ARCfile/SSS/SSS06122007.htm "Current Situation of Organ Donation and Transplantation in China"] {{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 [[Huazhong University of Science and Technology]], PRC, pub: City University of Hong Kong</ref> From October 2003 to July 2006, 52 LDLT operations were conducted at the West China Hospital, [[West China Medical Center of Sichuan University]].<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) [http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2007/03_15/4_advances_medicine2_5.html "Whole ovary transplant reverses early menopause"] {{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 [[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.<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 [[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.<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
 | 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, [[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."<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==

=== 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.<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 [[World Medical Association]] (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>

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.<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>

The [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]] 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&nbsp;4, 1995|year=1995 |publisher=worldcat.org |oclc = 33310708}}</ref> receiving evidence from various sources including statements from [[Amnesty International]], the BBC, and Chinese government documents produced by human rights activist [[Harry Wu]].<ref>[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/sdc/vol9e.pdf "Senate Committee Hears How Executed Prisoners’ Organs are Sold for Profit"] {{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>

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.<ref name=Hillman>[[Harold Hillman]] in a letter published in the November 2001 issue of ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' {{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, [https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-14-death-van_x.htm China makes ultimate punishment mobile] {{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 }}, ''[[USA Today]]'', 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/>

In June 2001, Wang Guoqi ({{lang|zh|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.<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 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). [http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf Congressional Research Report #RL33437] {{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>[http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/30council/cr_5/index.html "World Medical Association Council Resolution on Organ Donation in China"] {{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) [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1186611,00.html "China's Grim Harvest"] {{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> [[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.<ref name="yst06">McMillan-Scott, Edward (13 June 2006) [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/debate/columnists/secret-atrocities-of-chinese-regime-1-2374600 "Secret atrocities of Chinese regime"] {{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>

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, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070427100933/http://www.wma.net/e/press/2006_4.htm "World Medical Association demands China stops using prisoners for organ transplants"], 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 |date=2 October 2006 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |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>

==== 2017 announcement ====
In February 2017, [[CGTN (TV channel)|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 L. Delmonico|Francis Delmonico]] 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>

=== {{anchor|2006 allegations of living harvesting}}Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners ===
{{see also|Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China|Persecution of Falun Gong#Organ harvesting}}
In 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]]<ref name=orgharv>[[David Kilgour]], [[David Matas]] (6 July 2006, revised 31 January 2007)  [http://organharvestinvestigation.net An Independent Investigation into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China] {{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>[[Reuters]], AP (8 July 2006) [http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/falun-gong-organ-claim-supported/2006/07/07/1152240489760.html "Falun Gong organ claim supported"] {{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 }}, ''[[The Age]]'', (Australia). Retrieved 7 July 2006.</ref><ref name=Ottawa>Endemann, Kirstin (6 July 2006) CanWest News Service, [[Ottawa Citizen]], [http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=290fed94-d0c2-4265-8686-54ce75d08eca&k=34245 "Ottawa urged to stop Canadians travelling to China for transplants"] {{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>''[[Calgary Herald]]'' (5 July 2006) [http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=c990936c-e208-4601-888f-810ff73bd994 "Rights concerns bedevil China—Doing trade with regime must be balanced with values"] {{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>
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>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/27/chinese-accused-of-vast-trade-in-organs/print/ "Chinese accused of vast trade in organs"] {{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 }}, ''[[The Washington Times]]'' 27 April 2010</ref>

In 2014, investigative journalist [[Ethan Gutmann]] 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>[[Jay Nordlinger]] (25 August 2014) [http://www.nationalreview.com/sites/default/files/nordlinger_gutmann08-25-14.html "Face The Slaughter: The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem, by Ethan Gutmann"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223172904/http://www.nationalreview.com/sites/default/files/nordlinger_gutmann08-25-14.html |date=23 February 2016 }}, ''[[National Review]]''</ref><ref>Barbara Turnbull (21 October 2014)  [https://www.thestar.com/life/2014/10/21/qa_author_and_analyst_ethan_gutmann_discusses_chinas_illegal_organ_trade.html "Q&A: Author and analyst Ethan Gutmann discusses China’s illegal organ trade"] {{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 }}, ''[[The Toronto Star]]''</ref> 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.<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=[[New York Post]]|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 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.<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Hospitals-ban-Chinese-surgeon-training/2006/12/05/1165080933418.html "Hospitals ban Chinese surgeon training"] {{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>

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.<ref>Chinese Embassy in Canada (6 July 2006) [http://ca.china-embassy.org/eng/mtfw/press2/t261810.htm Response to the so called "China's organ harvesting report"] {{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) [http://ca.china-embassy.org/eng/mtfw/press2/t311443.htm Response to the so-called "Revised Report on China's Organ Harvesting"] {{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>

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>[http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2008/05/09/united-nations-human-rights-special-rapporteurs-reiterate-findings-on-chinas-organ-harvesting-from-falun-gong-practitioners United Nations Human Rights Special Rapporteurs Reiterate Findings on China's Organ Harvesting from Falun Gong Practitioners] {{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.

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.<ref name=OHRPD>Damon Noto, M.D., Gabriel Danovitch, M.D., Charles Lee, M.D., Ethan Gutmann.  [http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearings/view/?1468 ''Organ Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205204531/http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearings/view/?1468 |date=5 December 2014 }}, [[House Committee on Foreign Affairs]], 12 September 2012</ref> 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,<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Danovitch+G G Danovitch articles] {{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> [[Arthur Caplan]], Professor of Bioethics,<ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Caplan+AL AL Caplan articles] {{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>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Lavee+J J Lavee articles] {{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>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Ahmad+G G Ahmad articles] {{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>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Fiatarone+Singh+M M Fiatarone Singh articles] {{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>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Trey+T T Trey articles] {{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>[http://www.seraphimeditions.com/pdfs/Introduction-State-Organs "State Organs: Introduction"] {{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) [http://www.jewishtribune.ca/arts-and-culture/2012/09/19/new-matas-book-reveals-transplant-abuse "New Matas book reveals transplant abuse"] {{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>[[Mark Colvin]] (27 November 2012) [http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3642188.htm "Parliament to hear evidence of transplant abuse in China"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613183433/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3642188.htm |date=13 June 2016 }}, [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]</ref><ref>David Matas, Dr. Torsten Trey (2012) [http://www.seraphimeditions.com/state-organs.html State Organs, Transplant Abuse in China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224121713/http://www.seraphimeditions.com/state-organs.html |date=24 February 2015 }} seraphimeditions.com p. 144</ref>

[[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.<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>

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.<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>

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 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=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights]]}}</ref>

In August 2024, [[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] 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" />

===Allegations of organ harvesting===
{{see also|Persecution of Uyghurs in China|Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China}}

[[Ethan Gutmann]], an employee of the US government think tank [[Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation]],<ref name="GutmannTestimony"/> 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".<ref>Ethan Gutmann, [https://www.weeklystandard.com/ethan-gutmann/the-xinjiang-procedure “The Xinjiang Procedure”] {{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, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/opinion/brooks-the-sidney-awards-part-ii.html “The Sidney Awards Part II”] {{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 [[Falun Gong]] 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 [[Xinjiang internment camps]].<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 &#124; 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 [[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.<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 &#124; 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 |url-access=subscription }}</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 [[crematoria]] 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=[[U.S. Agency for Global Media]]|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 [[face transplant]] 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&nbsp;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 }}[https://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.cn%2Fzwgk%2F2007-04%2F06%2Fcontent_574120.htm&sl=zh-CN&tl=en Google translation] {{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, ''[[South China Morning Post]]'', 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 ''[[China Daily]]'' 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 [[organ donation]] system was jointly launched in March 2010 by the [[Red Cross]] 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 [[Tianjin]], [[Wuhan]] and [[Shenzhen]].<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>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304724404577298661625345898 China to Stop Harvesting Inmate Organs] {{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., [http://archives.republicans.foreignaffairs.house.gov/112/HHRG-112-FA17-WState-NotoD-20120912.pdf Organ Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese Communist Party] {{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 }}, [[House Committee on Foreign Affairs]], 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=[[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|Office of the High Commissioner]] |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==
* [[Experimentation on prisoners]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}{{Organ transplantation}}
{{Health in the People's Republic of China}}
{{China topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Organ Transplantation In China}}
[[Category:Healthcare in China]]
[[Category:Organ transplantation by country|China]]
[[Category:Organ transplantation]]
[[Category:Organ trade]]
[[Category:Human rights abuses in China]]
[[Category:Human rights of ethnic minorities in China]]