(Minghui.org) A forum on organ transplantation was held at the University of Pittsburgh on March 28, 2013, specifically focusing on the abusive practices taking place in China. The presenters discussed the issue of Falun Gong practitioners, who are severely persecuted in China, being systematically targeted as unwilling organ donors for transplant surgeries.

The forum was sponsored by the Friends of Falun Gong student club, and co-sponsored by Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), a medical advocacy group. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a world leader in the field of organ transplant surgery, hosted the event.

The conference room was full, and seats were added for latecomers and additional participants. Forum attendees included professors from the Thomas E. Starzl Transplant Institute (STI), the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), UPMC Public Health, the Department of Medical Ethics, and other experts. 

Exponential Rise in Transplants in China, But Where Do the Organs Come From?
Spokesperson Dr. Damon Noto from Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), headquartered in Washington DC, was one of the presenters at the forum.

Dr. Noto pointed out that though the Chinese Ministry of Health admits that the primary source of organs for transplant surgeries has been death-row inmates, it cannot explain the exponential growth in the number of organ transplants performed in China since 2000.

It is well known that there are few voluntary organ donors in China. Yet, the number of hospitals conducting organ transplantation increased over three-fold, from 150 in 1999, to 600 in 2007 (There are about 200 organ transplantation centers in the USA.)

An investigation conducted by David Kilgour, former Canadian MP and Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region, and human rights attorney David Matas, confirmed allegations that China has been actively harvesting organs from imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners.

According to information released by the Chinese government, a total of 18,500 organ transplantation surgeries were performed in China between 1994 and 1999. The number jumped to 60,000 during the years 2000-2005.

The report pointed out that Chinese authorities have not explained where the 41,500 additional organs used in transplantation were sourced from between 2000 and 2005, compared with the previous six years (1994-1999).

In a chilling statistic, the sudden increase of organ transplants coincides with the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong.

Human rights attorney David Matas presents evidence of organ harvesting abuse in China

Why Are Imprisoned Falun Gong Practitioners Singled Out for In-depth Medical Examinations?
David Matas listed further evidence at the forum about organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China. Over the course of their investigation, he and Mr. Kilgour learned that imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners had been systemically taken away for blood and tissue samples, and subjected to in-depth physical examinations.

The motives behind such treatment are questionable, as many Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death in prison, and their health is clearly not a concern to the authorities.

The systematic blood testing and organ examinations conducted on these prisoners of conscience is thus rather revealing. In interviews with inmates released from Chinese prisons who are not Falun Gong practitioners, the investigators were told that only Falun Gong practitioners had been subjected to these types of health checks.

Chinese Hospitals Confirm Using Falun Gong Organs in Transplantation Surgeries
Mr. Matas described how investigators, disguising as patients needing organs, made phone calls to Chinese hospitals, asking whether there were organs available from Falun Gong practitioners (as it is widely known that Falun Gong practitioners do not smoke or drink, and are generally in very good health). Personnel from the Chinese hospitals admitted that Falun Gong practitioners’ organs were available during a number of these phone conversations.

Matas described in detail seven cases of Falun Gong practitioners who had been subjected to live organ harvesting and killed in the process. Their names, background, and the times and places of the deaths were provided.

Persecution Policies Make it Possible to Target Falun Gong
Dr. Jingduan Yang, a physician of mental and behavioral medicine at Jefferson University Medical Center elaborated on the practice of Falun Gong and gave reasons as to why the CCP would want to persecute this group.

While Falun Gong attempts to revive traditional Chinese culture, the CCP has been stamping out Chinese culture for the past several decades. The CCP has been carrying out an extremely brutal persecution against Falun Gong, including an aggressive program of defamation, which makes it possible for the police, the military, and many unethical doctors to participate in the crime of live organ harvesting.

Medical Professionals and World Governments Take a Stand Against Organ Transplant Abuses in China
The last speaker in the forum was Dr. Jianchao Xu, a physician of nephrology at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, and part-time assistant professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He spoke about the reactions and actions from the international community concerning the CCP’s live organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.

Dr. Xu said, “The US Department of State released the new visa application DS-160 form for non-immigrant applicants in June 2011. Six new questions were added to the security and background section. One of these questions is, 'Have you ever been directly involved in the coercive transplantation of human organs or bodily tissue?' If the answer is yes, the visa application will be denied.

“The US Department of State mentioned allegation of the CCP’s live organ harvesting in its 2011 human rights report for the first time.

“The Israeli government instituted an organ transplant code in 2008, and restricted Israelis from traveling to other countries for illegal organ transplantation surgeries. Transplantation tourism has been reduced from 155 in 2006 to 26 in 2011. Organ donations at home has increased by 68% from 2010 to 2011.

“Malaysia also has a similar new code. The number of patients going to China for organ transplants has been reduced from 140 in 2004 to 40 in 2011.”

Forum host Dr. Dana Churchill called on the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as a leading center for organ transplantation, to take a role in leading world hospitals and doctors to take a correct stance in the face of the CCP’s crimes of live organ harvesting.

Ethics of Primary Importance in Organ Transplantation Training

 
Dr. Christopher Hughes, M.D., surgical director of liver transplantation at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, condemns live organ harvesting in China

After the forum, Dr. Christopher Hughes, M.D., surgical director of liver transplantation at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, signed a petition condemning the live organ harvesting. He said that Falun Gong is a peaceful group and organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners was beyond imagination, and a tragedy.

Dr. Hughes indicated that doctors involved in organ transplantation training should pay attention to the issue of organ harvesting abuse in China. He said, “I think the transplant community worldwide needs to wake up and pay attention, and begin to put pressure on China for these issues.” He stressed that medical ethics is a major part of the training at UPMC, and will be further emphasized when training overseas medical professionals, especially surgeons from China