Organ Harvesting and Trafficking of Chinese Minorities

Declarations: The Human Rights Podcast

Until 2015, China harvested organs from prisoners on death row. The State has adopted an official policy that all organs must come from voluntary donations. Yet research suggests that there is a large discrepancy between the official Chinese government’s statistics on organ transplant rates in China (10,000 per year) and reality (estimates of 60,000-100,000 per year). When combined with the ongoing repression of ethnic and religious minorities by the State, this raises questions about the origins of those organs. Human rights groups allege that the State harvests organs from prisoners of conscience including members of Falun Gong, Uyghurs, Tibetans and House Christians. In this episode, we focus on organ trafficking and transplant abuse in China, and the impact that it has upon minority groups. We are joined by Dr David Matas, who is an international human rights lawyer based in Canada and co-founder of the International Coalition To End Transplant Abuse In China (ETAC)