137 arrested in organ trafficking crackdown
Source: Xinhua |
August 5, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE police said yesterday that 137 suspects have been arrested in the latest crackdown on human organ trafficking.
The operation was jointly conducted by 18 provincial police authorities in late July, who also sent home 127 organ donors, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Security.
According to police, the detained suspects illegally recruited donors over the Internet, facilitated the deals and made huge profits from the transactions, which endangered the health of donors and placed a heavy financial burden on recipients.
There is a huge shortfall of organ donors through official channels in China.
Ministry of Health figures show that about 1.5 million Chinese need organ transplants, but only around 10,000 transplants are performed annually, due to a lack of donors.
The huge gap has led to an illegal market for human organs, though the government has repeatedly pledged to improve regulations on organ transplants and increase supplies.
In 2007, China issued its first national level regulations on human organ transplants, banning organizations and individuals from trading human organs in any form.
Amendments to China's Criminal Law in 2011 introduced clauses dedicated to organ-related crimes, under which organizers of organ trafficking may face prison terms of more than five years and fines.
And criminals convicted of "forced organ removal, forced organ donation or organ removal from juveniles" could face punishment for homicide.
To increase the legal supply of organs, health authorities are creating an official network.
Huang Jiefu, vice minister of health, said in March that insufficient organ donations resulted in most organs for transplant coming from executed prisoners - but only with their consent.
Huang promised to change the situation in three to five years by promoting a reliable donation system and encouraging donations from the public.
Trial systems were launched in 16 of the Chinese mainland's 31 provincial-level regions in 2010, under which 241 donations had been completed to benefit nearly 700 recipients, said Huang last month.
However, the public has continued to voice strong concerns about such a system, according to a March poll conducted among 1,012 residents of Guangzhou, capital of the southern province of Guangdong.
The result shows that 81 percent were worrying that organ donations may result in organ trafficking.
The operation was jointly conducted by 18 provincial police authorities in late July, who also sent home 127 organ donors, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Security.
According to police, the detained suspects illegally recruited donors over the Internet, facilitated the deals and made huge profits from the transactions, which endangered the health of donors and placed a heavy financial burden on recipients.
There is a huge shortfall of organ donors through official channels in China.
Ministry of Health figures show that about 1.5 million Chinese need organ transplants, but only around 10,000 transplants are performed annually, due to a lack of donors.
The huge gap has led to an illegal market for human organs, though the government has repeatedly pledged to improve regulations on organ transplants and increase supplies.
In 2007, China issued its first national level regulations on human organ transplants, banning organizations and individuals from trading human organs in any form.
Amendments to China's Criminal Law in 2011 introduced clauses dedicated to organ-related crimes, under which organizers of organ trafficking may face prison terms of more than five years and fines.
And criminals convicted of "forced organ removal, forced organ donation or organ removal from juveniles" could face punishment for homicide.
To increase the legal supply of organs, health authorities are creating an official network.
Huang Jiefu, vice minister of health, said in March that insufficient organ donations resulted in most organs for transplant coming from executed prisoners - but only with their consent.
Huang promised to change the situation in three to five years by promoting a reliable donation system and encouraging donations from the public.
Trial systems were launched in 16 of the Chinese mainland's 31 provincial-level regions in 2010, under which 241 donations had been completed to benefit nearly 700 recipients, said Huang last month.
However, the public has continued to voice strong concerns about such a system, according to a March poll conducted among 1,012 residents of Guangzhou, capital of the southern province of Guangdong.
The result shows that 81 percent were worrying that organ donations may result in organ trafficking.
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