The Use of Organs from Executed Prisoners in China

During a conference held in Hangzhou on the 15 th of March 2012, Huang Jiefu, China's Deputy Minister of Health, announced that China will ban the transplantations of human organs from executed prisoners in 3 to 5 years [1]. It represents the first step to regulate organ transplantation in a Country where 65% of transplants are grafts from non-heart-beating donors, over 90% of whom are executed prisoners. Living donors provide to the other 35% of transplantations. Donations from heart-beating donors, whose death is declared by neurological criteria (Harvard criteria 1968), are lacking. In 2003 China's Ministry of Health investigated the possibility to diagnose brain death, but the poor understanding of the concept by public and even by physicians have made the legislation about brain death abandoned. Since 2007 a pilot organ donation programme has run in 10 provinces, including Shangai [2]. This programme is explicated in the Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation, which aim is to reduce the amount of grafts from executed prisoners and to encourage donations from citizens. The lack of volunteer donations is related to the Confucians' rule to save the integrity of the body after death, but a survey among students demonstrates that things are changing. The Regulation on Human Organ Transplantation has not banned the practise of harvesting organs from executed prisoners, but has condemned illegal trade and transplantation tourism [3]. The reduction of transplants from executed prisoners has increased the amount of donations from living donors. The Regulation approves only donations from relatives to avoid a legal trade of grafts. Lately the indignation about Chinese shameful trade of organs has been growing. In 2001 a protest was presented to the committee on international relations of United States House of Representatives in Washington to enlighten the use of grafts from executed prisoners. Harvested organs are transplanted into recipients from all over the world. Patients come from the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia and pay $17 000-40000 each. In China prisoners could be executed for many crimes such as murder but also rape, robbery, drug dealing, and black market activities [4]. Amnesty International maintains that in 2008 alone 1,718 prisoners were put to death [2]. In 2009 the documentary " H.O.T.-Human Organ Traffic " reports interviews with people involved in organ traffic all over the world. It shows what happens in various Countries and focuses attention on organ retrieval from Chinese prisoners. The aim …