Chinese harvesting organs from Muslims, Buddhists and Christians, as well

Last year China acknowledged
that two-thirds of Chinese organ donors are executed prisoners. It is trying decrease
its reliance on prisoners by promoting voluntary donations. But there is still a
thriving black market, as an estimated one million people need organs and only
one percent receive them.

So where do the organs come from? A
persecuted religious group, the Falun Gong, have alleged that their imprisoned followers
have been quarried for their organs. Last year two Canadian human rights
lobbyists, one a former member of parliament, published a book, Bloody
Harvest: Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China, which
concluded that the allegations were true.

Now the Falun Gong – which the government
calls an “evil cult” — alleges that authorities are removing organs from
dissident members of other religions – Muslim Uighurs, Buddhist Tibetans, and
Christians, as well. At a news conference at Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the
Falun Gong released its 2010 report on government persecution. An estimated 9,000
members of Falun Gong have been executed for their corneas, lungs, livers,
kidneys and skins, the group claimed.

Ethan Gutmann, of the Foundation for the
Defense of Democracies, said, “These groups are useless to the state. They
are toxic, so you can’t release them. But they’re worth a great deal of money
in terms of their organs.” Organs from a single person could be worth as
much as US$100,000.

The plight of the Falun Gong has not
attracted much sympathy in the American media. Barely anyone apart from the
Washington Times paid the slightest attention to these astonishing allegations.
It’s impossible to know how true they are, but the persecution is a fact. Earlier
this month the New York
Times reported that two lawyers who defended a member of the Falun Gong in
court could be disbarred. ~ Washington
Times, Apr 27;

Michael Cook
China
Falun Gong
informed consent
organ donation

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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