China tightens management of human organ transplantation

Over the weekend, China announced new regulations on human organ transplantation with the aim of preventing illegal organ trade in an alarming state.

Only some hospitals have organ transplant surgery.(Photo: Reuters, TN)

From May 1, organizations and individuals are prohibited from buying and selling organs in any way. According to Xinhua, the above regulation states that no organs of donors should be accepted under 18 years of age. All transplants must be authorized by a competent committee and must be carried out in a " voluntary, non-profit " spirit. Violating doctors or hospitals will be prosecuted for criminal responsibility, subject to confiscations such as confiscation of practice licenses and heavy fines.

Human organ transplantation is defined as the process of taking a donor's whole or part of the heart, lungs, liver, kidney and spleen and transplanting it into a patient's body to replace damaged organs. However, the regulation does not apply to human tissue transplantation such as cell, corneal or medullary transplantation. Statistics from China's Ministry of Health show that up to 1.5 million patients in this country need organ transplants every year, but only about 10,000 organs.

TM