RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Smoke and mirrors: unanswered questions and misleading statements obscure the truth about organ sources in China
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 552
OP 553
DO 10.1136/medethics-2016-103533
VO 42
IS 8
A1 Wendy A Rogers
A1 Torsten Trey
A1 Maria Fiatarone Singh
A1 Madeleine Bridgett
A1 Katrina A Bramstedt
A1 Jacob Lavee
YR 2016
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/42/8/552.abstract
AB This response refutes the claim made in a recent article that organs for transplantation in China will no longer be sourced from executed prisoners. We identify ongoing ethical problems due to the lack of transparent data on current numbers of transplants in China; implausible and conflicting claims about voluntary donations; and obfuscation about who counts as a voluntary donor. The big unanswered question in Chinese transplant ethics is the source of organs, and until there is an open and independently audited system in China, legitimate concerns remain about organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.