Harvesting and Trafficking, Part II
September 10, 2007
In May of this year, China published an extensive set of rules regulating human organ donation. According to a China Daily article (“Rules banning human organs trade go into effect“), “The regulations stipulate that human organ transplants should respect the principle of free will. And it is made a crime to harvest organs without the owner’s permission or will.” This seems promising, yet one exclusion is noteworthy: “The regulations do not apply to transplants of human tissue, such as cells, cornea and marrow.”
China is second only to the United States in the number of transplants done per year. Last month, Dr. Jeremy Chapman, president of the international Transplantation Society, was part of a delegation that discussed the trade in organs with China’s Health Minister, Chen Zhu, and Vice-Minister Huang Jiefu. Chapman stated, however, that the Ministry of Health has given no firm commitment to stop the use of executed prisoners’ organs.
There are some indications that transplants have decreased in number this year in China. Fewer immunosuppressive drugs have been sold, and the reported numbers are about half the 11,000 reported in 2005 and 2006. Additionally, according to the article, the delegation could not substantiate the allegations regarding transplants-on-demand from Falun Gong members.
From the website of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, “The Transplantation Society’s Policy on Interactions With China” by Annika Tibell, published 15 August 2007, states that The Transplantation Society (TTS) is involved in a collaborative effort with the World Health Organization (WHO) “to cooperate with government agencies and create national legal frameworks that comply with TTS standards of practice and guiding principles of the WHO.” Listed are a number of reforms China is instituting. These include, among others, banning the purchasing and selling of human organs, and the prevention of organ trafficking. Transplants on foreign citizens will have “special regulations.”
The Transplantation Society has stepped up to the plate, it seems, regarding the reported organ trafficking in China. Still, several issues need attention. Will there be a “firm commitment” on ceasing to use organs from executed prisoners? The situation with respect to the Falun Gong is, at best, unclear at this point. What are the “special regulations” for transplant tourists? Why cornea transplants are not considered in the reforms is unstated. Unlike bone marrow, corneas are not renewable resources. They may be “human tissue,” but are not usually given up willingly during life. Openness of the Ministry of Health to TTS and the WHO is encouraging; hopefully, accurate registries will also be open to these. There appears some light is being shed upon the harvesting and trafficking in human organs in China, but more light is needed. The spotlight of the 2008 Olympics is coming. When areas outside the sports arena are caught in the beam, it will be reassuring to see human rights upheld.
