Marketing Organs

In fiction, organ farming is controlled by a shady US conglomerate. In real life, it's the Chinese government:

Kidney patients who need a transplant in Britain are being targeted by a medical group offering them new organs taken from executed Chinese prisoners.

The horrifying trade in human organs has been revealed by British surgeons who say patients are being tempted abroad, but may not fully understand the dangers or the human suffering behind the transplant operation.

It is thought that as many as 10 British patients may have gone to China this year to receive a new kidney, at a cost of £23,000. One UK patient was believed to be recovering this weekend at a hospital in southern China following such a transplant. [...]

Earlier this month, China broke its silence on the issue to admit that organs of executed prisoners were sold to foreigners for transplantation. Huang Jiefu, the deputy prime minister, admitted that the practice is widespread, but said they wanted to tighten the rules.

'We want to push for regulations on organ transplants to standardise the management of the supply of organs from executed prisoners and tidy up the medical market,' Mr Huang told Caijing magazine.

Tidy up the medical market - aren't they adapting well to the demands of a market economy, the Chinese?

Comments

[Ian]

Coma was a really good film too.