15 publications presenting the research of Chinese scientists have been withdrawn. The reason is the suspicion that they used the organs of executed prisoners for their experiments. More than 400 publications concerning analyzes conducted in an unethical manner had already been questioned.
Over 400 examinations under the magnifying glass
Scientific reports were withdrawn from journals «transplantation» i «PLoS ONE«. In two cases, they involved kidney transplants, and in the remaining cases – liver. The research used, inter alia, organs of prisoners belonging to the national minority – Uighurs. Similar activities were carried out routinely until 2015, but there is a concern that the unethical practice continued after the ban was introduced.
Explaining the withdrawal of the publication, the editors of the journal Transplantation say that in retrospect and thanks to the government’s explanations, it is clear that most of the organs harvested from deceased donors came from executed prisoners. This was not obvious at the time of publishing the scientific reports. Two more journals, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and Kidney International, have also expressed concern for similar reasons.
All the withdrawn publications appeared before 2015, when the Chinese government announced that it had stopped harvesting organs from prisoners. Previously, the authorities openly admitted to such practices, and consent for organ donation was required only from 2011. Although transplantation has been carried out in China for decades, the procedures were largely unregulated and legislation only began to be introduced in 2007.
Experts at Macquarie University in Sydney say in the British Medical Journal that more than 400 studies should be canceled because they may have relied on organs taken from prisoners. Almost none of the analyzes (92,5%) carried out in 2000-2017, which used organs, did not state whether the material came from prisoners subjected to execution. As experts point out, this is “morally disturbing”. In their opinion, the questions of where organs were obtained for Chinese research were asked far too rarely.
Immoral practices in China
Last year it was revealed that it had been used for a long time in China organs of prisoners of consciencethat is, people imprisoned because of their political and religious beliefs. Attorney Geoffrey Nice, who chaired the deliberations of the tribunal set up in this case in London, stressed that prisoners of conscience had been, and probably still are, killed for the sake of organs over the years.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International reports that the use of the death penalty in Chinawhich is common there is terrifying. Jacob Lavee, an Israeli heart surgeon and member of the Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting group, says politicians should get involved. He added that Chinese transplant doctors are committing a crime against humanity.
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