AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

View Alerts By > Case | Date | Country | Victim

AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

Allegations regarding the sale of human organs from executed prisoners in China resurfaced recently when federal authorities in New York City arrested two men on charges of conspiring to arrange transplants of kidneys and other organs taken from the bodies of executed inmates. While Amnesty International reported the practice as early as 1993, the arrests may constitute the first evidence of the practice gathered by U.S. officials.

The arrests occurred when two men, one of whom claimed to be a former prosecutor on Hainan Island, China, offered to sell kidneys from prisoners to an F.B.I. agent posing as a medical executive. The individuals claimed that they could arrange for American patients to have the transplant operations in China at lower costs than in the U.S. They also claimed to have access to corneas, pancreases, livers, lungs, and skin.

Chinese dissident and human rights activist Harry Wu, who had secretly videotaped the men during an interview in which he posed as a director of a dialysis center, reportedly alerted the F.B.I. agents who initiated an investigation.

Human Rights Watch had previously exposed a 1984 official Chinese document on "Rules Concerning the Utilization of Corpses or Organs from the Corpses of Executed Prisoners." The rules allow for the use of organs from executed prisoners with the prisoner's or prisoner's family's consent, or if nobody claimed the prisoner's body. However, the rules went on to state that the use of such organs must be kept secret, and any association with medical personnel or provisions, such as the use of hospital vehicles, was to be avoided. In addition, Chinese surgeons were instructed to deny the practice.

Prominent human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have alleged that Chinese officials time executions to meet the medical needs of organ recipients. The executions reportedly require physician intervention to assure the viability of the organs for transport.

Chinese officials have repeatedly denied the practice. They claim that ABC News coverage and a BBC documentary about the practice used fabricated footage.

The cited policy requires medical personnel to take actions inconsistent with their globally acknowledged moral and ethical responsibilities. According to the World Medical Association's International Code of Medical Ethics, which was adopted in October 1949:

• A physician shall respect the rights of patients, of colleagues, and of other health professionals and shall safeguard patient confidences; and
• A physician shall act only in the patient's interest when providing medical care which might have the effect of weakening the physical and mental condition of the patient.

In addition, the World Medical Association's Declaration of Geneva, adopted in 1948 states:

• The health of my patient will be the first consideration; and
• I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from its beginning even under threat and I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity.

This policy also constitutes a serious violation of international human rights standards including basic protections provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted without objection by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Among the relevant provisions are the following:

• No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5); and
• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person (Article 3).

In addition, the involvement of health professionals in the extraction process violates Principle 3 of the United Nations Principles of Medical Ethics Relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, Particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. This principle states:

• It is a contravention of medical ethics for health personnel, particularly physicians, to be involved with any professional relationship with prisoners or detainees the purpose of which is not solely to evaluate, protect or improve their physical or mental health.

(Sources of information for this case include The New York Times, and "The International Traffic in Human Organs," by David Rothman, which appeared in The New York Review, vol. XLV, Number 5, 6 March 1998. )

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telexes, telegrams, faxes, or airmail letters requesting:

• that the practice of the retrieval of organs for transplantation from executed prisoners be brought to a halt; and that
• a voluntary system of organ donation be instituted in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Li Peng Zongli
Premier of the People's Republic of China
9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People's Republic of China
[Telexes: 210070 FMPRC CN -or- 22478 MFERT CN]
[Faxes: + 86 1 512 5810 (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs)]
Salutation: Your Excellency

Chen Minzhang Buzhang
Minister of Public Health
Weishengbu
44 Houhai Beiyan, Gulou Xidajie
Beijingshi
People's Republic of China
[Telexes: 210070 FMPRC CN (Please transfer to Public Health Minister Chen Mizhang)]
[Telegram: Minister of Public Security Chen Mizhang, Beijing, China]
Salutation: Your Excellency

Xiao Yang Buzhang
Minister of Justice
Sifabu
Xiaguangli
Beijingshi 1100016
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Your Excellenc

Main | CSFR Letters | Science and Human Rights Program