Beijing - China plans to start phasing out the use of organs from executed prisoners for transplant surgery from next year, a health official said in a report published on Friday.
“While we cannot deny the executed prisoner's right to donate organs, an organ transplantation system relying on death-row prisoners' organs is not ethical or sustainable,” Wang Haibo said in an interview with the World Health Organisation monthly bulletin.
Earlier this year, the government announced plans to set up a new system for organ donation and end the use of transplant organs from executed prisoners within five years.
“Now there is consensus among China's transplant community that the new system will relinquish the reliance on organs from executed convicts,” said Wang, the director of a national transplant research centre under the Ministry of Health.
“The implementation of the new national system will start early next year at the latest,” Wang was quoted as saying.
“This will also mark the start of phasing out the old practice,” he said. - Sapa-dpa