At the National Human Organ Transplant Technology Clinical Application Summit, Vice Minister of Health Huang Jiefu said that organ transplantation in China should first meet the needs of Chinese nationals, including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
China strictly forbids domestic medical institutions to lure foreigners to come to China for organ transplantation in the name of tourists, with the sole aim of profiting from such operations. If there is really the need, foreigners should first file applications and run through necessary procedures before they take such operations, the People's Daily reported.
In the guiding principles of the World Health Organization, it is clearly stated that human organ transplants should first serve domestic nationals. Like other countries, China also faces a severe shortage of human organ sources. In China, about 1.5 million people have the need to take organ transplant operations due to their organ failure. However, only 10,000 people can really take the operation.
(chinanews November 17, 2006)
