World Medical Association demands China stops using prisoners for organ transplants

The World Medical Association has called on China to cease immediately the practice of using prisoners as organ donors.

At its Council meeting in Divonne-les-Bains, France, WMA representatives from more than 20 countries demanded that the Chinese Medical Association, members of the WMA since 1997, condemn the practice and ensure that Chinese doctors are not involved in the removal or transplantation of organs from executed Chinese prisoners.

In response to reports of Chinese prisoners being executed and their organs harvested for donation, the meeting passed a resolution stressing the importance of free and informed choice in organ donation. The resolution reiterated WMA policy which states explicitly that prisoners and others in custody were not in a position to give consent freely and that therefore their organs must not be used for transplantation.