China's Organ Transplantation Industry

Over the past decade, reports have emerged that the Chinese government is killing prisoners of conscience to supply its vast, lucrative organ transplantation industry. Researchers have uncovered new evidence and figures mined from a variety of sources that reveal the true nature and scale of these abuses.

On June 22, 2016, three independent investigators—former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour, Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas, and London-based investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann—published Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update,1 a 680-page report illustrating a state-driven industry that transplants far more organs—by an order of magnitude—than can be accounted for by officially acknowledged organ sources, which China says are limited to executed death-row prisoners and voluntary donors.

The new report concludes:

  • Based on government-imposed minimum capacity requirements, the 169 approved transplant hospitals could have conducted 60,000 to 100,000 transplants per year,2 in contrast to its official claim of 10,000 per year.3 These hospitals had the capacity to perform more than one million transplants since 2000.4 More than 1,000 hospitals applied for permits in 2007 to continue performing transplants.5
  • The main source of the massive volume of organs are primarily practitioners of Falun Gong, as well as Uyghurs, Tibetans, and House Christians.
  • Organ pillaging in China is a crime directed by the Communist Party and carried out by the military, state institutions, hospitals, and transplant professionals.

Israel, Spain, Italy, and Taiwan have passed laws restricting their citizens from traveling to China to receive organ transplants from illicit sources.

The U.S. House of Representatives and the European Parliament have passed resolutions (H.Res.3436 and 2013/2981(RSP),7 respectively) condemning the practice. Hearings have been held by the U.S. Congress, the British Parliament, the European Parliament, and the Canadian Parliament.

The story of China’s killing for organs is beginning to gain traction across media outlets all over the world.

“The [Communist] regime’s ghoulish and inhumane practice of robbing individuals of their freedom, throwing them in labor camps or prisons, and then executing them and harvesting their organs for transplants is way beyond the pale of comprehension and must be opposed universally and ended unconditionally.”

—Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, U.S. Congresswoman (R-FL)


References

1
"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"
Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/an-update/
2
"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 372~374 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"
Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf
3
"WHO Officials Claim Organ Transplants in China Becoming Transparent China News Service, Aug 20, 2015 www.hb.chinanews.com/news/2015/0820/222847.html"
Original: https://archive.is/8OlTf
《中新网》 世卫官员称中国器官移植变得阳光透明 Aug 20, 2015 - 中新社
4
"Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network National Data, as of January 10, 2017"
Original: https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/#
5
"Climbing the peak of transplantation, continue the wonderfulness of life"
Original: https://archive.is/DATK4
攀登移植之巅 延续生命精彩
6
"H.Res.343 – Expressing concern regarding persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the People’s Republic of China, including from large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups. June 13, 2016"
Original: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/343
7
"Resolution on organ harvesting in China European Parliament 12/12/2013"
Original: http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc160145143