China to cut death row organ transplants

THE vast majority of transplanted organs in China come from executed prisoners, state media reported yesterday in a rare disclosure about an industry often criticised as opaque and unethical.

The country’s Health Ministry and the Red Cross Society of China this week launched a national organ donation system to reduce the reliance on death row inmates and encourage donations from the public, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Condemned prisoners are “definitely not a proper source for organ transplants”, the report quoted vice health minister Huang Jiefu as saying.