China to Stop Harvesting Inmate Organs

“China officials plan to phase out organ harvesting of death-row inmates, a move to overhaul a transplant system that has for years relied on prisoners and organ traffickers to serve those in need of transplants.”

• the use of the word “overhaul” implies that the system is flawed and needs to be changed
• The sentence gives the impression that prisoners and organ traffickers are the only sources of organs for transplants

“Chinese officials plan to abolish the practice within the next five years and to create a national organ-donation system, according to a report from the state-run Xinhua news agency.”

• “Abolish” makes it seem as though this system is looked down upon and has been in need of change for a while
• This sentence implies that the “national organ-donation system” that is in the works will be much more up-to-date and organized

“Officials in the world’s most populous country have conceded that China has depended for years on executed prisoners as its main source of organ supply for ailing citizens.”

• If executed prisoners are no longer going to be a source of organs, how is China going to continue performing transplants for its people?

” Human-rights groups say the harvesting is often forced and influences the pace of China’s executions. Mr. Huang has been quoted in state media reports as saying that the rights of death-row prisoners have been fully respected and that the state asks for written consent prior to donation.”

• Death-row prisoners may not be as consenting as previously thought
• The demand for organs from these prisoners is very high, which might play a role in China’s high amount of executions
• It was stated that written consent of the prisoner is needed, but the skepticism still remains about whether or not prisoners consent as often as China claims they do

“Due in part to traditional beliefs and distrust of the medical system, voluntary donations are rare in China, where the need for organs far exceeds the supply.”

• China’s medical system is not held in high regard by its population
• not enough people are willing to donate their organs to meet the demand for them

“An estimated 1.5 million people in China are in need of organ transplants annually, while only 10,000 receive them, according to government statistics. In the U.S. in 2009, 14,632 organs were donated, while the transplant wait list had 104,898 patients, according to data from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.”

• the chances of receiving an organ transplant in China are slim to none
• Why do people not want to donate their organs?
• Is the population simply too big for the medical system to handle?

“Officials repeatedly make announcements every few years, but they don’t appear to have a solid plan in place.”

• The government does not seem to view this as much of a pressing issue, but the statistics say otherwise
• If the demand for organs is so high, why would the government not put in more of an effort to inform the population of the importance of donations?

“Xinhua cited Mr. Huang as saying that infection rates for prisoners’ organs are typically high, causing a lower long-term survival rate for Chinese with transplanted organs than for people in other countries.”

• The small amount of transplants that actually do occur are not performed with high quality organs
• The demand for organs must be so enormous that the standards for them are lower than where they should be