Reactie Ria Oomen-Ruijten op orgaanverwijdering en -handel in China - Main contents

China performs more than 10,000 organ transplantations per year and Chinese organ transplant centers advertise that matching organs can be found within 2-4 weeks, yet as of May 2013 it did not have an organized or effective public system of organ donation or distribution.

• • 

  China does not comply with the World Health Organization’s requirement of transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways, and the government of the People’s Republic of China has resisted independent scrutiny of the system

• • 

  China implemented regulations in 1984 that permitted the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners and the director of the China Organ Donation Committee and former Vice-Minister of Health has mentioned that around 90% of transplant organs extracted from deceased donors stemmed from executed prisoners in China, and has said that by mid-2014, all hospitals licensed for organ transplants will be required to stop using organs from executed prisoners and only use those voluntarily donated and allocated through a fledging national system.

• • 

  However, China has announced its intention of phasing out the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners only by 2015 and the introduction of the China Organ Transplant Response System (COTRS), a computerized organ-allocation system thereby contradicting its commitment that all hospitals licensed for organ transplants will be required to stop using organs from executed prisoners by mid-2014

• • 

  the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment have expressed concern over the allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners, and have called on the government of the People’s Republic of China to increase accountability and transparency in the organ transplant system and punish those responsible for abuses

• • 

  deep concern over 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 imprisoned for their religious beliefs, and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups

• • 

  the phasing out of harvesting of organs from executed prisoners only by 2015 is not acceptable. The European Parliament will call on the government of the People’s Republic of China to immediately end the practice of organ harvesting from all prisoners, and particularly from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups