'Live' organ trade revealed at trial
By Wang Xiang |
May 20, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A MAN who allegedly dealt in the sale of "live" human organs stood trial in a Beijing court yesterday, revealing a well-organized black market of body parts around the country.
The organ agent, whose name was not revealed, allegedly sold an organ donor's kidney for 130,000 yuan (US$19,000) to a transplant patient. He was charged with illegal business operation in Haidian District court of Beijing.
The man said he was once a donor himself. He sold half of his liver for 40,000 yuan in June 2008.
The 22-year old organ dealer confessed that he stepped into the trade because he was poor and selling organs gave him quick and easy money.
The court did not reach a verdict yesterday.
This was the second organ sales case in Beijing this year. Last month, four agents were prosecuted at the same court for keeping hundreds of willing young donors at their "organ farms," waiting in confined apartments to have their kidney or liver harvested.
The lid was blown open only after a 19-year old organ seller Yang Nian was underpaid and informed the police about the grisly trade.
He told police that agents recruited organ sellers from all over the country. The potential donors were kept in cramped apartments while buyers were sought in big cities, he said.
Some organ agents specialized in finding buyers and others took care of the paper work, including faking documents to prove the buyer and seller were relatives.
China banned donations between strangers in 2007. Many doctors reportedly had no idea they were cutting organs out of illegal donors.
The four agents, Liu Qiangsheng, Yang Shihai, Liu Ping and Liu Qiang, stood trial on April 17. The court has yet to hand down a verdict in that case.
Liu and Yang, also former organ donors, said they were wrongfully arrested because they were doing good things to save hundreds of lives.
China, which began organ transplants in the 1960s, is now a world leader in the field. More than 1.5 million patients are on waiting lists for organs each year while only about 11,000 organs are available. The huge demand has caused the illegal trade to flourish.
The organ agent, whose name was not revealed, allegedly sold an organ donor's kidney for 130,000 yuan (US$19,000) to a transplant patient. He was charged with illegal business operation in Haidian District court of Beijing.
The man said he was once a donor himself. He sold half of his liver for 40,000 yuan in June 2008.
The 22-year old organ dealer confessed that he stepped into the trade because he was poor and selling organs gave him quick and easy money.
The court did not reach a verdict yesterday.
This was the second organ sales case in Beijing this year. Last month, four agents were prosecuted at the same court for keeping hundreds of willing young donors at their "organ farms," waiting in confined apartments to have their kidney or liver harvested.
The lid was blown open only after a 19-year old organ seller Yang Nian was underpaid and informed the police about the grisly trade.
He told police that agents recruited organ sellers from all over the country. The potential donors were kept in cramped apartments while buyers were sought in big cities, he said.
Some organ agents specialized in finding buyers and others took care of the paper work, including faking documents to prove the buyer and seller were relatives.
China banned donations between strangers in 2007. Many doctors reportedly had no idea they were cutting organs out of illegal donors.
The four agents, Liu Qiangsheng, Yang Shihai, Liu Ping and Liu Qiang, stood trial on April 17. The court has yet to hand down a verdict in that case.
Liu and Yang, also former organ donors, said they were wrongfully arrested because they were doing good things to save hundreds of lives.
China, which began organ transplants in the 1960s, is now a world leader in the field. More than 1.5 million patients are on waiting lists for organs each year while only about 11,000 organs are available. The huge demand has caused the illegal trade to flourish.
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