Smoke and mirrors: unanswered questions and misleading statements obscure the truth about organ sources in China

This response refutes the claim made in a recent article that organs for transplantation in China will no longer be sourced from executed prisoners. We identify ongoing ethical problems due to the lack of transparent data on current numbers of transplants in China; implausible and conflicting claims...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical ethics 2016-08, Vol.42 (8), p.552-553
Main Authors: Rogers, Wendy A, Trey, Torsten, Fiatarone Singh, Maria, Bridgett, Madeleine, Bramstedt, Katrina A, Lavee, Jacob
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioethics
Blood & organ donations
Capital punishment
Capital Punishment - legislation & jurisprudence
China - epidemiology
Citizens
Coercion
Commerce
Death row inmates
Donation of organs, tissues, etc
Estimates
Ethical aspects
Ethics, Medical
Humans
Informed Consent - legislation & jurisprudence
Medical ethics
Organ transplantation
Organ Transplantation - ethics
Organ Transplantation - legislation & jurisprudence
Physiological aspects
Presumed Consent - legislation & jurisprudence
Prisoners
Response
Tissue and Organ Procurement - ethics
Tissue and Organ Procurement - legislation & jurisprudence
Tissue donation
Transplantation of organs, tissues, etc
Transplants & implants
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Summary:This response refutes the claim made in a recent article that organs for transplantation in China will no longer be sourced from executed prisoners. We identify ongoing ethical problems due to the lack of transparent data on current numbers of transplants in China; implausible and conflicting claims about voluntary donations; and obfuscation about who counts as a voluntary donor. The big unanswered question in Chinese transplant ethics is the source of organs, and until there is an open and independently audited system in China, legitimate concerns remain about organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.
ISSN:0306-6800
1473-4257
DOI:10.1136/medethics-2016-103533