Peers told organ donations not nefarious

A Chinese expert spoke out on Saturday at a Geneva conference against a rumor claiming China secretly performs 100,000 organ transplants a year, equal to the whole world’s total.

Professor Wang Haibo said at the 14th Congress of the International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement that the rumor is “insulting the intelligence of transplant and medical professionals”.

“I believe not one organ donation and transplant professional with a lucid mind believes this ridiculous accusation,” said Wang, director of China’ Organ Transplant Response System.

“We — top, leading scientists in the field of organ donation — gather together every two years to discuss sophisticated scientific issues for the purpose of saving lives. But some people disguise their vain political talk in the form of academic presentation and try to gain political visibility for themselves in this biennial scientific platform,” he said.

“The truth is that they don’t care about organ donations nor about saving lives. They are using organ donations, the noble career that we have devoted our professional lives to, as a political tool for their own unspeakable agenda,” he said.

Wang told his colleagues from different countries on Saturday that China’s new national system for organ donation and transplantation is based on Chinese cultural and societal norms, and is consistent with the World Health Organization’s guiding principle and international standards.

Wang said that the 2007 human organ transplant regulation passed by the State Council had set an important foundation for the development of a brand-new system for organ donation and transplantation in China.

The international community and the WHO have applauded China’s organ transplantation achievements, but internationally there are still rumors that China “harvests organs” from prisoners, especially Falun Gong practitioners.

In his speech, Wang said that as far back as November 2005, China made changes to its organ donation system which led to efforts to ensure a decade to replace the use of death row inmates’ organs with an alternative donation system that is supported by the Chinese government and the public and embraced by international society.

Wang said the WHO’s support has been vital in making China’s law consistent with international standards.