Indications of Inconsistency and Deletion of Online Transplant Data by Chinese Hospitals

Overview
As China’s highly unethical practices of organ procurement become increasingly scrutinized by international human rights groups and governments, the Chinese hospitals, either military or civilian, have been manipulating the organ transplant related data on their websites. Some hospitals altered the content, such as the number of transplants performed, of its website. Some hospitals simply removed an entire website pertaining transplant center operations.

This report provides a few examples of such manipulation.

Index

Online Transplant Data Inconsistency

Example 1: Southwest Hospital Affiliated to No.3 Military Medical University

Example2: Guangdong No.2 Provincial People’s Hospital

Websites Vanished

Example 3: Organ Transplant Institute, Sun Yat-sen University

Online Transplant Data Inconsistency

Example 1: Southwest Hospital Affiliated to No.3 Military Medical University, Chongqing city, Sichuan province

On the website of Southwest Hospital, there is an article dated Dec. 4, 2013 as shown in Figure 1. The article is entitled “No. 3 Military Medical University Southwest Hospital Institute of Hepatobiliary Surgery striving to climb the peak of medical technology^[1].”

Figure 1 Article on Southwest Hospital’s website dated Dec. 4, 2013

The article says and as shown in Figure 2, “In the past 15 years, the department has cumulatively conducted 1,119 liver transplants.”

Figure 2 Southwest Hospital article dated Dec. 4, 2013

However, as shown in Figure 3, the introductory page of the Southwest Hospital & Institute of Hepatobiliary Surgery Department displays the following information on its official website: “Clinical liver transplant started in May 1999… By April 2011, Southwest Hospital had cumulatively conducted over 500 liver transplants^[2].”

Figure 3: Southwest Hospital Affiliated to No.3 Military Medical University webpage (archived on March 9, 2015)

Both numbers have a clear date range. Figure 2 shows that in the 15 years starting 1999, 1,119 transplants were conducted. Figure 3 shows that in the 13 years starting 1999, 500 transplants were conducted. It’s implausible that the number could double in the last 2 years.

Example 2: Guangdong No.2 Provincial People’s Hospital

Guangdong No.2 Provincial People’s Hospital Organ Transplant Department’s webpage went through changes sometime between July 1, 2014 (last archived date) and March 18, 2015 (latest attempt to visit the page).

Figure 4 shows the top portion of the old webpage which is an introduction of the Organ Transplant Department. The page was archived on July 1, 2014. The first paragraph stated: “Our Organ Transplant Department was established in 1999… The department head, Dr. Liu Dong studied under Dr. Zheng Keli from Sen Yat-sen Medical University… He has personally participated in over 2,000 kidney and liver transplants. In 2010, Dr. Liu’s kidney transplant comprehensive score ranked in the top ten in the nation^[3].”

Figure 4. Guangdong No.2 Provincial People’s HospitalOrgan Transplant Department Intro page (Archived on July 1, 2014)

Scroll down on the same page, as shown in Figure 5, it has a picture of the hospital ward and a picture of a kidney transplant in action. The paragraph right in between the pictures stated: “Since 1999, our department has cumulatively conducted over 1,000 kidney transplants.”

Figure 5. Guangdong No.2 Provincial People’s HospitalOrgan Transplant Department Intro page (archived on July 1, 2014)

However, captured in March 2015, the introductory page for the organ transplant department has been simplified. Most pictures were gone. And the numbers of transplants conducted by the department and the by Dr. Liu Dong have also changed. As seen on Figure 6, the accumulative number of kidney transplants has changed from 1,000 to 500; and Dr. Liu’s personal record of transplants were changed from 2,000 to 1,200^[4].”

Figure 6 Newer version of Guangdong No.2 People’s Hospital Organ Transplant Department introduction page(archived on March 18, 2015)

Websites Vanished

Organ Transplant Institute, Sun Yat-sen University

Sun Yat-sen University No.3 Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Organ Transplant Institute, Guangdong Organ Transplant Center shared the same website, which address used to be www.organtransplantation.cn. It has a suite of webpages detailing its departments and accomplishments. Figure 7 shows the original homepage of the website.

Figure 7 Original homepage of Sun Yat-sen University Organ Transplant Institute at www.organtransplantation.cn (archived copy)

On the left on the Institute’s homepage, there is the list of links to the liver transplant and kidney transplant departments. The kidney transplant department page (Figure 8) included the following content:

“The kidney transplant department of No. 3 Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University belongs to the Organ Transplant Institute and is managed by Dr. Chen Guihua…. Our current annual transplant numbers are over 100. …. We plan to achieve annual 200 kidney transplants in the near future.”

Figure 8 Sun Yat-sen University Organ Transplant Institute Kidney transplant department page (archived copy)

The liver transplant department page (Figure 9) says that “since 1993, the department conducted over 600 liver transplants. From January to November 2004 alone, the department conducted over 200 liver transplants.”

Figure 9 Sun Yat-sen University Organ Transplant Institute liver transplant department page (archived copy)

Throughout March and early April 2015, multiple visits to the same url at different times generated the same result: the webpage is no longer reachable, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10 Entire website at www.organtransplantation.cnhas vanished