Transplant experts in Britain have accused China of removing organs from executed prisoners and selling them without prior consent of the prisoners and their families.
Transplant experts in Britain have accused China of removing organs from executed prisoners and selling them without prior consent of the prisoners and their families.
There is increasing evidence, which highlights that organs from executed prisoners are being removed for human transplantation purposes in an illegal way, according to reports of the British Transplantation Society (BTS). The number of organs harvested from prisoners is currently unknown. Although, the BTS said that the figure could be in the thousands.'The British Transplantation Society condemns unreservedly any activity that transgresses an individual's human rights or involves the coercion of an individual to become an organ donor. The alleged use of organs from executed prisoners without consent is considered a breach of human rights and is an unacceptable practice,' said Stephen Wigmore, Chairman, BTS ethics committee. It further described the alleged sale of organs from executed prisoners as a ‘lamentable practice’.
The human rights groups, worldwide, have criticized the hospitals that have turned to such barbaric organ sales and transplant procedures. Although China had said that it would streamline the transplant procedures by restricting the number of hospitals qualified to perform the transplantation and imposing a ban on human organ sales, nothing much has been put into practice.
Such practices in addition to reducing the dignity of life also increase the chances of transmission of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B. Furthermore, they lead to an increased risk of organ failure, graft rejection and other transplant related complications owing to the poor compatibility.
Although instances of organs being stolen from executed prisoners have been reported from around the world, such cases against the law were rare. 'The same strict procedures apply to using organs from executed criminals as using them from deceased volunteer donors,' said a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry.
