by Raina Jain

Posted on August 15, 2013

Starting in November, hospitals in China will begin phasing out the use of executed prisoners’ organs for transplant operations. In its place, organs will only be transplanted from voluntary donors.

China is currently the only nation which still uses the organs of prisoners, and has received widespread criticism on a global level for the practice. In response, officials have now joined the criticism, saying the controversial procedures “tarnish the image of China.”

Much of the controversy arose over human rights debates, with rights group claiming that many organs were taken without consent from the prisoners or their families. The government denies any wrongdoing.

Huang Jiefu, head of the ministry’s organ transplant office, told Reuters that participating hospitals would promise to stop using organs transplanted from prisoners at a meeting in November. He also said that the China Organ Transplant Committee will monitor the transition, ensuring that the “source of the organs for transplantation must meet the commonly accepted ethical standards in the world.”

This transition is taking place after China launched a pilot version of the volunteer program, with hopes to make a complete shift by the end of the year. 64 percent of transplanted organs came from prisoners in 2012, and the proportion has decreased to 54 percent so far.

Simultaneously, voluntary organ donation in China has been increasing, from 63 cases per month in 2010 to 130 per month this year. However, supply is still falling short with 300,000 patients waitlisted annually for organ transplants, of which only 1 in 30 will receive the necessary organ.

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