By Shar Adams

May 04, 2006

Prison inmates in China. Australian doctors have said Australians have gone to China to receive organ transplants from executed prisoners. (China Photos/Getty Images)

Australians are going to China for organ transplants knowing the organs are from executed prisoners and the numbers are likely to increase according to transplant surgeons in Australia.

Dr Scott Campbell from the renal unit of Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, told The Epoch Times he personally knew of half a dozen patients who had been to China for kidney transplants but added that: "There is bound to be significantly more than that if you look at all the patients that have been seen by different people around the country." When asked if those patients were aware that the organs would be coming from executed prisoners in China, Dr Campbell replied: "I am fairly confident that they were aware."

China has been the subject of a number of US human rights congressional reports on organ trading and as labour camps are full of those that have been incarcerated and tortured for their political and spiritual beliefs, there are grave concerns that many have been executed prisoners to service the Chinese organ trade.

A former Chinese journalist, now living in the US, told The Epoch Times that "Organ selling is a very profitable business in China" and confirmed that Falun Gong "practitioners are killed for their organs, which are sent to the various medical facilities."

Chinese organ transplant websites are growing in number on the internet with most transplant hospitals promising minimal waiting lists as "Viscera providers can be found immediately!"

At a site for the Beijing International Medical Support Centre, four hospitals promote different transplant facilities but all state that: "The donor organs come from people that are executed in China."

The Chinese Communist Party owns all hospitals in China and is quite open about executed prisoners being used for organ donation.

Western medical professionals are told that all donors have given informed consent but Dr Campbell does not give this statement much credence.

"I am not quite sure that any process that involves the execution of a prisoner could be described as 'informed consent'," he said.

While all organ transplants are free in Australia the cost of a kidney transplant in China, as quoted from Chinese hospital websites, is $US70,000 and a liver transplant $US120,000.

Dr Campbell said the cost of obtaining a kidney in China was not necessarily a deterrent for Australians because many people were "in a desperate situation".

"The thing that drives it all is the availability of kidneys.

"We have a very big problem with the number of kidneys available. The numbers of donors is not growing and is, if anything, a little bit less than what it was some years ago. And yet the number of people needing kidney transplants in Australia is growing very rapidly.

"The need to increase the number of donors locally is an important problem."

Dr Campbell said he expected that the numbers of Australians seeking organs in China is likely to grow and that he and his colleagues were very concerned about the prospect of more patients receiving organs form executed prisoners.

Dr Campbell explained that there is no aftercare for foreign organ recipients in China and because all organ transplants procedures were covered by Medicare, Australians travelling overseas for an organ transplant would automatically have their aftercare requirements provided by the public health system when they returned.

"I guess the premise of [the public health system] is that you essentially treat all comers," Dr Campbell said but added "I know that I and many of my colleagues feel very uncomfortable and worry that by looking after these patients when they come back that, in some way, we may be assisting and helping to support the market for these organs."

Dr Campbell, a renal physician, said he and many other doctors find the organ trade in China "immoral" and "unethical" and would like the Federal Government to address the issue.

One way, he said, was to make it illegal in Australia for Australian citizens to obtain organs in a manner which is considered illegal in this country.

Another way is to consider whether the Australia taxpayer should fund the aftercare of Australian citizens who have received organs from executed prisoners.

"It is morally very wrong," Dr Campbell said: "I'd think that we have a legitimate right to consider whether we want to support that sort of practice being utilised by people coming back from those places."

Australian Democrats, Natasha Stott-Despoja and Andrew Bartlett have both expressed concern that Australians may be obtaining organs of executed prisoners for transplants.

Both senators told The Epoch Times they will be raising the issue in estimate committees and directly with the government when Parliament sits from May 9.

Source http://theepochtimes.com/news/6-5-4/41062.html

Posting date: 5/5/2006
Original article date: 5/5/2006
Category: News & Media Reports

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