UN questions China over organ harvesting

Manfred Nowak, a human rights lawyer and the United Nations independent expert on torture, has asked China to respond to allegations of harvesting organs from dead prisoners.

The move comes after Mr Nowak received “quite a number” of allegations of the practice from human rights groups and members of the European parliament, among others.

Mr Nowak said that he has had oral confirmation from China that it is looking into the situation. He expects written comments from investigators later this month.

Mr Nowak made a similar written request in late July or early August. However, Beijing failed to provide the information by the time he presented a report on his visit to China to the UN Human Rights Council in the second half of September.

La Yifan, a senior Chinese diplomat, told a session of the council, which has 47 member nations, that China would investigate the allegations seriously and that it would respond to the communications in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, after a BBC report about the sale of organs from executed prisoners, Qin Gang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said on 28 September, “In China the use of bodies and organs of executed prisoners is very prudent, with relevant regulations being strictly implemented.”

One of the terms, he said, is that “the written consent of the prisoner to be executed must be obtained.”

Experts do not believe that any prisoners are free of undue influence or pressure.

Amnesty International said that in 2005 China executed at least 1770 people; it believes the true figure to be much higher.

The BBC report put the price of a liver from an executed prisoner at £50 000 (€74 000; $93 000). A report published in July by the Canadian human rights activists David Matas and David Kilgour said that the prices for organs in China were $62 000 for a kidney, $98 000 to $130 000 for a liver, $150 000 to $170 000 for a lung, and $30 000 for a cornea.