Shenzhen bans lucrative trade in human body parts

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has banned the trade in human organs and tightened rules on donations and transplants, amid growing concerns of a thriving illegal business in selling body parts, state media and Hong Kong reports said yesterday.

The new regulations follow allegations by human rights groups that foreign patients are receiving organs removed involuntarily from executed Chinese prisoners. Chinese officials have fiercely denied these charges.

Enacted Friday by the local legislature, the new rules outlaw trading in human organs, with fines of up to 500,000 yuan (US$60,500) for doctors who obtain organs illegally, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported.

They also stipulate that organs be given on a "first-come, first served" basis and put local Red Cross associations in charge of matching donors with recipients, the English-language China Daily reported.

Violators obtain organs when they are not eligible will be fined up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,200), the China Daily reported.

The rules also allow for non-relatives to provide living organ donations, although minors under 18 are only allowed to donate to family members, it said.

Details the earlier regulations were not available and government offices were closed yesterday.

The China Daily report said the new rules followed a positive response to a call for cornea donations four years ago.

However, a plan to use driver's licenses to register organ donors was scrapped because of superstitions.