Falun Gong Practitioners Systematically Murdered for Their Organs: Refuting the Chinese Regime's "Death Row" Explanation, Chapter V

This article was first published in January 2010.

In 2006, The Epoch Times newspaper broke a stunning story about what is undoubtedly one of the most horrible atrocities to be committed by any government, not only in modern times, but in all of recorded history. As documented in the investigative report, "Bloody Harvest," by noted human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region David Kilgour, there is overwhelming evidence of the Chinese Communist regime's chilling role in systematically murdering Falun Gong practitioners, harvesting their organs while they are alive, and making huge profits from doing so. In response to the international outcry, the Chinese regime has attempted to explain away one of the main pieces of circumstantial evidence--the meteoric rise in the number of organ transplantations in recent years and the extremely short wait times in a culture notoriously averse to organ donation--by stating that it has harvested organs from executed criminals after their deaths. Faced with undeniable evidence, it has attempted to escape culpability for a monstrous atrocity by admitting to a lesser crime. In this report, we will show evidence that directly contradicts this claim and lends further credence to the serious charges levelled against the Chinese regime.

V. China's organ transplant market skyrocketed in 2003

According to Huang Jiefu, deputy Minister of Public Health, "The number of organ transplants in China has grown rapidly in the past ten years between 1997 and 2007." [24] In a story published by Nanfang Zhoumo, "China stops organ transplant tourism," Huang criticised the explosive growth of organ transplants in hospitals: "There are more than 600 hospitals and over 1,700 doctors engaged in organ transplant surgeries. This is way too many!" [25] By comparison, there are approximately 100 hospitals in the United States specialised in liver transplant surgery and less than 200 specialised in kidney transplant surgery. In Hong Kong, there are only three hospitals, and each is specialized in liver, kidney, and heart transplant surgery respectively. The statistics published by the Tianjin Oriental Organ Transplant Center and the No. 2 Hospital of the Second Military Medical University (also known as Shanghai Changzheng Hospital), two hospitals that have close ties to the Chinese military, provide a glimpse into the rapid growth of China's organ transplant market. (Appendix 2)

Chinese experts' figures on organ transplants, although they vary, clearly indicate the massive growth in China's organ market in the past ten years. (Refer to Appendix 3 for exact data.) Between 2003 and 2006, underground hospitals emerged as well (Appendix 4). The organ transplants from these underground hospitals are very likely not included in the public statistics. Therefore, the number of actual organ transplants during this period should be higher than the public data.

Using the data provided by Huang Jiefu, and Shi Bingyi, director of the Organ Transplant Center of the People's Liberation Army, as well as reports by the Chinese media, we have created the following table to show the trend in China's organ transplant market. (See Appendices 3 and 5 for detailed background information.) In it, we have divided the period from 2000 to 2008 into three phases: prior to 2003, between 2003 and 2006, and after 2006.

2000 - 2008: Three phases in China's Organ Transplant Market

Phase I

Prior to 2003

Death row inmates - Averaged around 6,000 since 2000 (with even lower numbers prior to 2000)

Phase II

Between 2003 and 2006

Death row inmates and other unknown sources - 12,000 in 2004; other estimates placed the 2005 number at 15,000, and 2006 numbers at 20,000; no conclusive national data available for 2003, however, in a leading military organ transplant hospital, there was an increase of nearly 60% from 2002 to 2003 (with 801 cases), which then almost doubled to 1,601 cases in 2004 (claimed by the hospital website to be the highest number of organ transplant operations in the world in 2004)

Phase III

2007 and later

Death row inmates and living donors among relatives - Dropped approximately 40% by 2008 (no conclusive national data available for 2007)

Although the number has dropped significantly since 2007, it is still higher than the period prior to 2003. According to the Chinese government, the higher number is due to the increase of living donors among relatives as a result of vigorous promotions. At present, 40% of organs come from living donors among relatives. [26]

But this doesn't address the sudden, large increase in transplants from 2003 to 2006.

The question is, who was the source of organs that caused China's organ transplant market to skyrocket?

The number of organ transplants during the ten-year period between 1997 and 2007 was relatively stable in other countries around the world. In Canada, the number of organ transplants rose from 1,500 in 1997 to 2,200 in 2007, while in the United States the number rose from 20,000 in 1998 to 27,000 in 2008 (Appendix 6). Yet in China, after a relatively stable period between 1997 and 2002, there was a sudden, rapid growth of transplants. After the allegations of live organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners emerged in 2006, the number of transplants dropped drastically. China does not fit the worldwide pattern.

[24] Huang Jiefu, Mao Yilei, and J. Michael Millis. "Policy of organ transplant in China," The Lancet, http://download.thelancet.com/flatcontentassets/series/china/comment11.pdf

[25] Southern Weekend [Nanfang Zhoumo], "China stops the organ transplant tourism," http://www.infzm.com/content/9556

[26] China Daily, "Public Call for Organ Donations," August 26, 2009,

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-08/26/content_8616938.htm