T or F? "Each person who travels to China for an organ causes the death of another human," said Dr. Torsten

Question

The Vancouver Province: Doctors Slam China's 'Live' Organ Program

Foreign patients who travel to China for transplants are likely receiving organs culled from political prisoners who are alive when their corneas, kidneys and livers are harvested, then left to die, an international group of doctors is warning.

"China has long used organs from executed criminals, but since 2000 has turned to living donors and outlawed Falun Gong members to supply a growing trade in medical transplants," Doctors Against Organ Harvesting said yesterday in Toronto.

The newly formed organization is seeking to warn patients that someone else's life is likely being sacrificed in the process of obtaining organs.

The group is sounding the alarm in the medical community about evidence of unethical transplants in China and want doctors to impress the information upon their patients

What's your take?

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=55918544-38fa-445d-8df1-e30886970ed9

Answer 1

There is no doubt that organs from executed prisoners are used for organ transplants and that the procedures used to obtain consent (used to be presumed consent until a year or so ago) would not stand up to an ethical review.
However it does not seem that they are executed only to obtain their organs. They would be executed anyway for whatever crimes they are perceived to have committed.
I have worked with Transplant Surgeons from China who came to the US as Observers and there is no doubt that the "donors" were dead when the organs were removed. That, in fact, accounts for the poor initial function of the livers (about 50% survival at 1 year). The organs function much better if they are removed from a heart beating donor than if the "donor" is hung or shot and then rushed to the OT for removal of organs.
The Chinese are aware of the poor press these policies have resulted in and have recently made the requirements of consent for organ donation more rigorous. Not good news for people going to China for organ donations. We recently got a patient at our transplant center in India who had first gone to China and waited for an organ for two months without success. By the time he came to us his liver cancer had metastasized to his lungs and he was no longer transplantable.

Answer 2

In the most recently released UN Annual Report, some investigation activities of the UN special rapporteurs on the organ harvesting atrocities and some official correspondent letters were disclosed.

According to the allegations received, organ harvesting has been inflicted on a large number of unwilling Falun Gong practitioners at a wide variety of locations, for the purpose of making available organs for transplant operations.

Vital organs including hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas were systematically harvested from Falun Gong practitioners at Sujiatan Hospital, Shenyang, Liaoning province, beginning in 2001. The practitioners were given injections to induce heart failure, and therefore were killed in the course of the organ harvesting operations or immediately thereafter.

It is reported that employees of several transplant centres have indicated that they have used organs from live Falun Gong practitioners for transplants.

After the organs were removed, the bodies were cremated, and no corpse is left to examine for identification as the source of an organ transplant. Once the organs were removed they were shipped to transplant centres to be used for transplants for both domestic and foreign patients. Officials from several detention facilities have indicated that courts have been involved in the administering the use of organs from Falun Gong detainees.

Answer 3

It is probably true but we cannot say it absolutely. I had read articles citing unethical transplants in China. The case of a patient who had two kidney transplant in 48 hours is a quite a good example that "some" are considering a transplant quite a good business. Yeah, the statement you cited is really possible. Such issue warning the people are quite concern but for those who are really in dire need will heed not to pay more attention on such warning for the reason that survival of the loved ones who is in urgent need to have an organ transplanted would be on top of their priorities. Unethical manner of transplantation could be worrisome but the family who needs an organ transplanted would rather not be highly concerned on such issue. Authorities should looked upon justification of such matter.

Answer 4

i've spoken to doctors from china who've spoken openly about the practice of harvesting organs from executed prisoners, so i don't doubt for a second that unethical practices like that happen. as to whether they are now first harvesting the organs before killing the prisoner... who know? again, it's very likely. as stated previously, the transplant is more likely to be successful when the donor is alive at the time of organ procurement. the moral of the story is don't get arrested in china.

Answer 5

think about this way, if you are dying because of an organ failure, would you care how and where to get a fresh organ for yourself?!