Organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China

Allegations of forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and other political prisoners in China have raised concern within the international community.[1][2][3] According to a report by former lawmaker David Kilgour, human rights lawyer David Matas and journalist Ethan Gutmann of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, political prisoners, mainly Falun Gong practitioners, are being executed "on demand" in order to provide organs for transplant to recipients.[1][2] Reports have said that organ harvesting has been used to advance the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong[4] and because of the financial incentives available to the institutions and individuals involved in the trade.[5][6] A report by The Washington Post has disputed some of the allegations, saying that China does not import sufficient quantities of immunosuppressant drugs, used by transplant recipients, to carry out such quantities of organ harvesting.[7]

Reports on systematic organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners first emerged in 2006, though the practice is alleged to have started at least six years earlier.[8][9] Several researchers—most notably Matas, Kilgour and Gutmann—estimate that tens of thousands of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience have been killed to supply a lucrative trade in human organs and cadavers and that these abuses may be ongoing.[10] These conclusions are based on a combination of statistical analysis; interviews with former prisoners, medical authorities and public security agents; and circumstantial evidence, such as the large number of Falun Gong practitioners detained extrajudicially in China and the profits to be made from selling organs.[6][5]

The Chinese government long denied all accusations of organ harvesting.[7] The parliaments of Canada and the European Union, as well as the United States House of Representatives, have adopted resolutions condemning the forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience.[1] United Nations Special Rapporteurs have called on the Chinese government to account for the sources of organs used in transplant practices, and the World Medical Association, the American Society of Transplantation and the Transplantation Society have called for sanctions on Chinese medical authorities. Several countries have also taken or considered measures to deter their citizens from travelling to China for the purpose of obtaining organs. A documentary on organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, Human Harvest, received a 2014 Peabody Award recognizing excellence in broadcast journalism.[11]

In December 2018, a non-governmental tribunal known as the China Tribunal, chaired by British barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, concluded "unanimously, and sure beyond reasonable doubt—that in China forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience has been practiced for a substantial period of time involving a very substantial number of victims."[12][13] China eventually admitted that it had engaged in systematic organ harvesting from death row prisoners,[7] though it denies that such an organ harvesting program is ongoing.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Elliot, Tim (9 November 2019). "'Crimes against humanity': is China killing political prisoners for their organs?". Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ a b Samuels, Gabriel (12 July 2016). "China carrying out over 60,000 illegal organ transplants annually, report finds". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  3. ^ Elks, Sonia (17 June 2019). "China is harvesting organs from Falun Gong members, finds expert panel". Reuters.
  4. ^ Griffiths, James (25 June 2016). "Report: China still harvesting organs from prisoners at a massive scale". CNN. Archived from the original on 9 May 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b Robertson, Matthew P.; Hinde, Raymond L.; Lavee, Jacob (14 November 2019). "Analysis of official deceased organ donation data casts doubt on the credibility of China's organ transplant reform". BMC Medical Ethics. 20 (1): 79. doi:10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6. ISSN 1472-6939. PMC 6854896. PMID 31722695.
  6. ^ a b Allison, Kirk C.; Caplan, Arthur; Shapiro, Michael E.; Els, Charl; Paul, Norbert W.; Li, Huige (3 December 2015). "Historical development and current status of organ procurement from death-row prisoners in China". BMC Medical Ethics. 16 (1): 85. doi:10.1186/s12910-015-0074-0. ISSN 1472-6939. PMC 4668660. PMID 26630929.
  7. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Denyer2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Gutmann, Ethan (2012). "BITTER HARVEST: China's 'Organ Donation' Nightmare". World Affairs. 175 (2): 49–56. ISSN 0043-8200. JSTOR 41639005.
  9. ^ Cheung, Maria; Trey, Torsten; Matas, David; An, Richard (June 2018). "Cold Genocide: Falun Gong in China". Genocide Studies and Prevention. 12 (1): 38–62. doi:10.5038/1911-9933.12.1.1513 – via USF Scholar Commons.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Slaughter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Human Harvest: China's Illegal Organ Trade". The Peabody Awards. 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Short Form Conclusion of the China Tribunal's Judgment". China Tribunal. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
  13. ^ Ouellette, Kailey (10 December 2020). "China Is Forcibly Harvesting Organs From Prisoners Of Conscience, Tribunal Rules". The Organization for World Peace. Retrieved 27 December 2020.

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