Xinhua Insight: Illegal organ deals strike fear into hearts of Chinese

Xinhua Insight: Illegal organ deals strike fear into hearts ofChinese by Xinhua writers Wang Aihua, Lai Yuchen and Wu Di

BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Steve Jobs, the American IT icon whofounded Apple Inc. and gave the world its iPods and iPhones,probably never imagined that a young man in China would sell one ofhis own kidneys in order to buy an iPad 2.

"Xiao Zheng," a 17-year-old technophile, sold one of his kidneysfor 22,000 yuan (3,300 U.S. dollars) through an underground dealer.He used the money to buy an iPad 2 and a laptop computer.

Earlier this month, Xiao Zheng's story appeared on the Internet,drawing thousands of comments.

While Xiao Zheng's Apple madness was greeted with morbidcuriosity, the story of an impoverished countryside resident whoended up losing a kidney in an illicit organ deal ignited publicfury over the practice.

A few months ago, 26-year-old Hu Jie from central China's HunanProvince decided to sell one of his kidneys to settle his gamblingdebts.

Hu had second thoughts about the deal, but before he could voicehis discontent, the underground dealers he had contacted corneredhim and bound him to an operating table. He ended up losing one ofhis kidneys after all was said and done.

"It was a dark room, cold and shabby," Hu said. "The nurseinserted a huge needle into my body, and I soon passed out."

Hu posted his tragic experience on the Internet in February,which later led to the Ministry of Health ordering a nationwidecrackdown on hospitals conducting unlicensed organ transplantsurgeries.

At the end of March, public health authorities in north China'sShanxi Province revoked the medical license of Changliang Hospital,where Hu's surgery took place. The hospital's operations weresuspended and the medical staff involved in the incident will likelyface legal action.

There are no official statistics regarding the number of illegalorgan deals taking place in China every year, but horror storiesoccasionally surface, suggesting a fairly vibrant undergroundmarket.

"Underground organ dealing rings have a strict hierarchy," Husaid. "Those in charge of finding organ sellers are at the lowestlevel, and those contacting buyers are higher. On top of the ringare the people securing the hospitals."

Both Xiao Zheng and Hu got into contact with illegalintermediaries through the Internet. In their words, websites filledwith alluring advertisements for organ deals were just a click away.

Liu Yang, a director from the provincial public health departmentin Shanxi, said that the underground organ market is fed by amassive supply gap.

Statistics show there are about 1.5 million patients on China'sorgan transplant waiting list, but the number of registered donorsis only about 10,000, accounting for less than one percent of thedemand.

One major reason for this gap, said Liu, lies with thetraditional Chinese belief that humans should die intact.

In 2007, the State Council, or China's cabinet, created aregulation that bans living people from donating organs, except forspouses, blood relatives and in-laws or adopted family members.

In February this year, the Standing Committee of the NationalPeople's Congress, China's top legislature, approved a revision tothe country's Criminal Law. The revision states that "organizingothers to sell human organs" is a crime.

Liu Mingxiang, vice dean of the Law School of Renmin University,said that criminalizing underground organ transactions is asignificant step forward in preventing the practice.

However, he added, legal interpretations are still needed tobetter define the law.

"As it stands now, sellers and buyers are not subject topunishment under the revision," he said.

To tackle the issue, Liu has called for more campaigns to informpeople of the harm done through underground organ deals and raiseawareness for posthumous organ donation programs.

In the cases of Xiao Zheng and Hu, neither of them realized howdangerous the organ removal operations could be.

"The agent said the operation would not do much harm to my body,"Hu recalled.

Liu has also pressed for a specialized law concerning organtransplants, much like the laws currently in place in many developedcountries.

However, Wang Liming, vice president of Renmin University, didnot see that coming any time soon.

"There is no sign that China will create a law concerning organtransplants in the near future," Wang said.

In the meantime, authorities are racking their brains to try andfind a way to encourage the public to donate their organsposthumously.

In March 2010, the Ministry of Health and the Red Cross Societyof China launched an organ donation pilot program in 11 provincesand municipalities.

However, as of February this year, the program has only resultedin the donation of 37 organs.

In April, Vice Health Minister Huang Jiefu said the governmentshould "reduce medical costs for donors during their hospital staysand help with their funeral expenses."

He also suggested using other financial compensation such as taxrebates, medical insurance or tuition waivers for donors' familymembers.

Chinese citizens will also have the option of registering asorgan donors when they apply for new driver's licenses this year.

"Certain incentives are necessary," Liu said. "However, too manyincentives will make donating look like a business deal."