Human Rights

The State Council passed a draft regulation on Wednesday banning trade in human organs and tightening controls on transplants. China has the second-highest number of transplants in the world, but the programme has been plagued by concerns about illegal organ trading and doubts about whether donations from executed prisoners, who contribute most of the organs transplanted, are made voluntarily. "This is the first regulation of its kind introduced by the central government, and it is a milestone in the country's organ transplant history," a senior governmental official said. However, a human rights group said the regulation fails to address what it called the "crucial issue" of the procurement of organs from executed prisoners.

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