Chinese specialist elected president of WHO organ transplantation task force

Hundreds of Chinese organ transplantation specialists attended the 27th International Congress of the Transplantation Society held in Spain, where two preeminent Chinese experts were elected as members of the newly established task force by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The six-day conference began on Sunday in Madrid with more than 3,000 organ transplantation experts and scholars from 105 countries attending the meeting.

Huang Jiefu, head of China’s National Human Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, together with 149 other Chinese experts in fields related to organ transplantation, attended the conference and introduced the status quo and development of China’s organ donation and transplantation program.

This is the first time such a large Chinese delegation attended the conference, according to a report sent by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to Global Times on Wednesday.

During the conference, the WHO Task Force on Donation & Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues was formally established to provide related policy advice and technical support for the WHO and to promote the supervision of organ transplantation and ensure human rights in member countries.

Huang was elected as the honorary president and a special member of the committee besides some 30 members.

Wang Haibo, head of the China Organ Transplant Response System, was also elected as a member of the committee.

As more and more Chinese officials participate in the developmemt of the international transplantation system, “China has changed its role from a participant to a rule maker in the organ transplantation field,” the report said.