China has published rules governing human organ transplants in its latest effort to clean up a business that has been criticized as being profit-driven with little regard for medical ethics.
A human rights group, however, yesterday said the rules did not go far enough and failed to address the "crucial issue" of procurement of organs from executed prisoners.
The new regulations issued on Friday by China's State Council include a ban on the sale of human organs for profit and on donations by people under 18, according to the text of the regulations published by the People's Daily.
The rules, which take effect on May 1, also make it illegal to harvest human organs without permission and standardize transplant procedures at the limited number of licensed hospitals.
Little information about China's lucrative transplant business is publicly available. Human rights groups have said many organs come from executed prisoners who may not have given their permission.
"The regulations show that China is responding to great international concern over organ trade in the country," said Nicholas Bequelin, a Hong Kong-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, in a telephone interview.
"But the regulations are no substitute for an open and transparent system. It leaves vague areas under secrecy, such as the crucial issue of the provenance of the organs, which we know are through judicial executions," Bequelin said.
Xinhua news agency said most organs used in transplants come from deceased Chinese citizens who had voluntarily donated. But Bequelin said more than 90 percent of organs used in transplants were obtained from judicial executions.
A senior Chinese health official said last year that a majority of organs were harvested from executed prisoners, but only with their prior consent, the China Daily said.
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