Investigative Report on Harvesting Organ from Live Falun Gong Practitioners all over China

Published on April 17, modified on May 1, 2006

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Investigative Report on Harvesting Organs from Live Falun Gong Practitioners in Many Cities and Provinces Across China

Summary

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) has confirmed through its investigations that many hospitals and transplant centers in Mainland China are harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners and using these organs for transplants.

After the Sujiatun Concentration Camp was exposed on March 9, some hospitals in Northeast China that were investigated said they received a notice to temporarily stop performing organ transplant surgeries.[1] However, following the March 27 Ministry of Health publication "Interim Regulation for Human Organ Transplant Practice", which will take effect on July 1,[2] hospitals and major transplant centers in China not only resumed their operations but are also performing an increasing number of organ transplants.

Medical staffs from many hospitals in China indicated that ample organ suppliers are available in April and May, after which it will be difficult to obtain organs. The similar responses from many provinces, cities and autonomous regions indicate that this is a widespread practise and the supply of "donors" is well coordinated.

The evidence presented in this report is mainly recorded from direct conversations. The questions (Q) were asked by our investigator(s) while the answers (A) were from the medical staff in the hospitals that were investigated. WOIPFG has kept the voice recordings and other forms of evidence.

1. Hospitals in many provinces and cities in China harvest organs from live Falun Gong practitioners to be used for transplants

During the past month, WOIPFG obtained a large amount of information and evidence from many provinces and cities in China. Many people reported information on this issue, and the evidence is wide-ranging. Some comes from doctors or related persons who once participated in live organ harvesting. Hereby, we list only six typical cases. These hospitals all expressed that they could provide Falun Gong practitioners' organs. WOIPFG has kept more evidence on similar cases.

No. 1 Central Hospital in Tianjin City (also called the Oriental Organ Transplant Center)[3]
Q: "…His doctor told him that the source of the kidney is very good as [the organ supplier] practiced qigong. (asked: "What type of qigong?") Falun Gong, because people who practice Falun Gong have good health…[interrupted]

A: Of course. We have a similar situation here. We also have these so-called supplier bodies that are still breathing or still have a heartbeat. We also have them, of course. However, to be honest, first of all, not all [organs] are like this. This year, we've probably had a dozen kidneys of this kind so far…

Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai[4]
Q: I have to have a fresh and healthy kidney. And it should be alive. You are not going to give me a kidney from a dead person, are you?
A: Of course we will give you a good kidney, how could we give you a bad one? Q: …Do you have ones from people who practice Falun Gong? I heard that they provide very good ones. A: All that we have here are of this type.

Qianfoshan Liver Transplant Center in Shandong Province[5]
Q: Do you have a kidney from someone who practices Falun Gong, one that's free from any illness? A: Well...We will definitely have a lot of suppliers like that in April. The number of those suppliers is gradually increasing. Q: Why will you have more suppliers in April? A: I cannot tell you that because it involves... I won't say…Anyway, there is no need to explain this to you. This question can't be answered.

The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaotong University in Shanghai[6]
Q: I just want to know if you have the type that is from people who practice a kind of Falun Gong.
A: Sure. Just come here.

No. 2 Affiliated Hospital of Hubei Province Medical University[7]
Q: I heard you guys are doing kidney transplants? A: We do perform kidney transplants.
Q: What about kidney sources from Falun Gong people at your place? A: I would say not bad. Maybe you can ask the General Hospital from the Guangzhou Military Region, which is the general hospital in Wuhan City. We share with each other.
Q: What about the number of Falun Gong people allocated to your place? A: I would say we have relatively fewer Falun Gong people.

Tongji Hospital in Wuhan City:
Q:…Do live transplants, for example, use organs from live people who practice Falun Gong?
A: Sure.
Q: At your place, for example, prisoners, like those who practise Falun Gong, can you guarantee enough live supplies from such people?
A: Yes, sure! When it's convenient for you, come over and discuss the details.
2. Both local and military hospitals all over Mainland China are rushing to do large amounts of organ transplants, which indicate that mass slaughtering of Falun Gong practitioners is being carried out to eliminate the live evidence

WOIPFG investigated many hospitals throughout China as well as most military hospitals. Most of those hospitals said that a large number of organ suppliers are available in April and May, and that it will be difficult to obtain them after this period of time. They urged the patients to receive the transplant as soon as possible. Below are a part of the investigative results.

Guangdong Province:

Xiehe Hospital in Huizhou City affiliated with Southern Medical University in Guangdong Province
We will have organ supplies next Money and Tuesday (April 11 and April 12).

No. 2 Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College
We can do lots of them if the tissue matches go well. Sometimes we can do many from one batch of suppliers. We have a batch of suppliers between mid-April and late April, and another batch in mid-April. People practicing qigong have good health. The kidneys are all from young people aged between 20 and 30 with no infectious diseases such as AIDS or syphilis. A kidney transplant costs between 70,000 Yuan and 80,000 Yuan; a liver transplant is 100,000 Yuan; a combined liver and kidney transplant is 200,000 Yuan.

Fujian Province:

No. 2 People's Hospital in Xiamen City
I know a lot of people in Shanghai, so I can introduce you to them. It costs a lot of money — between 300,000 and 400,000 Yuan — and costs 300,000 Yuan [if you get it in] Fujian Province. Of course, the suppliers are live. You can first receive a consultation in Shanghai and Fuzhou. Dozens of surgeries have been done in Fuzhou. I know even more about the situation in Quanzhou. At the No. 174 Hospital, all of their suppliers are young. If you want to, I can introduce you. It's a little cheaper in Quanzhou. They do about 20 to 30 transplants a year.

Qianfoshan Liver Transplant Center in Shandong Province
Q: Do you have a kidney from someone who practices Falun Gong, one that's free from any illness? A: Well...We will definitely have a lot of suppliers like that in April. The number of those suppliers is gradually increasing. Q: Why will you have more suppliers in April? A: I cannot tell you that because it involves... I won't say…Anyway, there is no need to explain this to you. This question can't be answered.

Shandong Provincial Hospital (March 22): the person who is investigated in the following excerpt received a liver transplant at Jinan City Central Hospital in December 2001.
Q: How long did you wait for?
A: I waited for five months.
Q: That's a pretty long time.
A: That was back then, when [donors] were scarce. Now there's no need to wait that long; now [the waiting time is] very short. Should be all set in April and prior to May 1.

Liaoning Province:

Aier Ophthalmology Hospital in Shenyang City (March 14):
Q: How long do I have to wait for a cornea transplant? How much is it?
A: About 5,000 Yuan to 10,000 Yuan
Q: What if I want a fresh one?
A: We can get you a fresh one in about a week or a month.
Q: All from the local area? A: Yes!

Military System

Guangzhou General Hospital Urology Section in the Guangzhou Military Region (kidney transplant):
We have a rich source of kidneys here. We will have live suppliers next Monday (April 11), aged between 25 and 30 years old.

Guangzhou General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Region (liver transplant):
Director A: (One transplant) costs 200,000 Yuan. I can't tell you the age of the supplier. We can do it now, but you have to pay double that amount if you want a live supplier…we have two livers available next Tuesday (April 12), (one of them is Type B).
Director B: Come as soon as possible. (Come) on Saturday or Sunday. We'll do it on Tuesday after you come here. It's between 180,000 Yuan and 380,000 Yuan.

No. 1 Affiliated Hospital of the No. 1 Military Medical University of the People's Liberation Army (Southern Hospital in Guangzhou) (liver transplant): Come as soon as possible. We'll do it on a Saturday. There are many organ suppliers in April, and we will have a few batches next week…We do about 100 surgeries a year. Come as soon as possible. You can even come on Saturday or Sunday.

No. 181 Hospital in the Guangxi Autonomous Region
Between early May and late June, if you come over right now, we have suppliers for you…Come right now, we can do a simultaneous liver-kidney transplant; the cost is around 300,000 Yuan.

Armed Police System

Armed Police Shaanxi General Hospital:
A:If you want to do it, come this Thursday. We’ll have a large amount of donors this Thursday.
Q: You’re talking about before May 1 or after May 1?
A: Before May 1! Right this month! Right in April, this month. We have them this month. Then next week and the week after we will have them too.

3. Sequential Operation behind the Secret Source of Live Organ

Many hospitals that were investigated said that the source of these organs is a sensitive topic and they cannot discuss it. They said, however, that the organs or donors have official supply channels and are coordinated, and they basically don’t use organs sold by individuals.

The No.1 Affiliated Hospital of Hubei Medical University:
Q: I’d like to inquire about a transplant operation. Is it possible?
A: Yes.
Q: How much?
A: At least US$60,000.
Q: Oh $60,000. It’s better that it comes from a healthy person. Better to be healthy.
A: For sure it’s healthy. Absolutely healthy. If it’s not healthy we won’t take it.
Q: I heard that those from Falun Gong practitioners are better. Do you have them?
A: Yeh. We pick all the young ones with healthy kidneys. We don’t want those from the old ones. On this, you can absolutely rest assured. Sorry I can’t tell you much on the phone.
…..
A: You want the local ones? It’s possible. We have local ones and out of town ones.
Q: You have the type from people practicing Falun Gong?
A: Yeh.

The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University
A: We must keep the organ source a secret. It’s a little different, and we cannot casually advertise it. If the circumstances permit, we do. We can try our best to come up with a way to work with them, ask them to do their best to provide us with kidneys. It requires an opportunity…
The People’s Hospital does dozens of transplants a year; the general hospital of the military region does a little less.
Q: Why do you have to keep the supplier source a secret? Are you afraid he is not willing to donate it?
A: Yes, though such a circumstance is relatively rare. Would someone sell their organ to you for a few hundred thousand Yuan? Would you be willing to sell your kidney for a few hundred thousand Yuan to whoever wants to pay? You wouldn’t! Right?
Q: Aren’t there people in the streets who sell [their organs] because their families are too poor? Is it that this type of organ is unsafe?
A: No, that won’t work. That’s not protected by law! The law doesn’t permit it, [the law] doesn’t allow organ sales.
Q: What if he donates his organs?
A: No, donation doesn’t work, either. It’s impossible for someone to donate it for free.
Q: But the organs you get aren’t for free, either? (Of course not!) You will still have to match the type, how much one should pay?
A: Tens of thousands of Yuan.

General Hospital in the Shenyang Military Region
Q: My friend is looking for a kidney source.
A: Looking for a kidney on his own? No, he can't! If you want to do a relative's kidney transplant, talk to director Liu and see if he can do it. I think it won't work if you look for a kidney yourself.
Q: It seems one must use the ones you provide.
A: That's right!
Q: What year did you do the most transplants?
A: We do this many every year.
Q:…
A: Falun Gong? (They were sentenced to prison) Oh! That has nothing to do with you. Don't you just want a kidney transplant? Don't worry, all we have here are from young men in their 20s.

Dongnan Hospital in Quanzhou, Fujian Province:
Doctor A: Between 80,000 Yuan and 100,000 Yuan, from dead or live bodies. It's a unique situation in China; they mostly come from executed prisoners…
Doctor B: Live organ transplant (from executed prisoners). We get the organs at the execution ground.

No. 463 Hospital of the Liberation Army (Shenyang City):
Q: Do you do kidney transplants?
A: Yes, we do.
Q: Are the organs transplanted from live bodies?
A: They are kidneys from prisoners.
Q: Is it after they are shot dead or is it…
A: They are usually like that…(She asks someone: Aren't they live bodies?) Usually, our kidneys can be transplanted within 24 hours.
….
Q: How many transplants? Over 1,000?
A: That's for sure; we've been doing it for quite a few years. We do at least a few hundred transplants each year. (Right now) there are lots of patients in our section.

Q: So how long does it take for you to do the tissue match? A: It depends. Sometimes it takes only one week to find a matching tissue.
Q:…So are these live suppliers healthy?
A: Oh, that…It should be fine; because before that we also do…we draw blood and run tests on the supplier.

No. 81 Hospital in the Nanjing Military Region:
Q: You guys provide the liver source?
A: Yes! We have people specializing in liver removal, transplant and management.
Q: Do you get all of your livers from the local area? Do the transplants come from live bodies?
A: In the vicinity! Usually taking a liver should not last more than 12 hours. It's a little more high risk to do an organ transplant from a live body. You can come here and we can think about it!
Q: Can you guarantee the health of the suppliers?
A: For that, you have to come here and we have to do specific evaluations. [The suppliers] are all in their 20s.

Tiexi Hospital of Anshan Steel Company in Anshan City:
"We take a bus to get the suppliers. People from Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai often come here on planes to get suppliers. We usually save the good organ suppliers for our own hospital. Normally we use the suppliers a little more than two hours after we receive them. We get it at 9:30, arrive at the hospital at 10:00, and put it on the surgery table at 12:00. All of the suppliers are from the local area, but may not be from Anshan City."

"We do about 40 or 50 transplants a year and have been doing it for more than two years. We cut it from the supplier alive."

Reference:

[1] WOIPFG investigation record _SJT_N (Back)