Executive Summary

A Decade-Long Investigation

It first came to light in 2006 that prisoners of conscience were being killed on demand for organ transplants in detention facilities and hospitals throughout China.1

Since then, international researchers have continued to investigate these alleged practices. Among them, two Canadians—former Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas—came to “the regrettable conclusion that the allegations are true.”2 Meanwhile, London-based investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann independently researched the topic over the course of seven years and reached similar conclusions.3

Unfortunately, organ harvesting has not ended. Rather, the industry has continued to grow at a rapid pace over the past decade.

Investigators joined forces and researched hundreds of transplant hospitals around China. Based on this research, Kilgour, Matas, and Gutmann published Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update4 in June 2016. Spanning 680 pages and nearly 2,400 references, the report uncovers the true nature and scale of these abuses.

Our study unearths and analyzes hospital data and policy directives concerning the growth of organ transplantation in China. We found that China came to perform the most transplants in the world in just a few years despite the lack of an effective organ donation system. Furthermore, the industry continued to grow after live organ harvesting gained international attention in 2006. Through examining statements and policies regarding China’s officially recognized organ sources, and summarizing the industry’s history and relevant government regulations, we have pieced together evidence showing that state, military, and civilian institutions that have been mobilized to carry out this medical genocide.

On-Demand Transplants

Investigators discovered the existence of an industry in which organ transplants were conducted as needed, on-demand.

The China Liver Transplant Registry reported a large proportion of emergency liver transplants for which organ sources were found within days or even hours. In elective cases, waiting times for kidney and liver transplants were commonly listed in weeks.5

One hospital advertised “donors seeking matched recipients” and promised, “in case of failure, [to] continue to perform transplants until one is successful.”6

Doctors could procure multiple organs for the same patient in quick succession, in case of rejection or to have as spares.7 It is not uncommon in China for a patient to receive multiple transplants of the same organ.8 Furthermore, the vast array of transplantable organ types and their prices openly listed on hospital websites give the impression that any body part can be replaced as needed.9

Researchers continue to see numerous individual and institutional feats reflected in hospital profiles, media interviews, and other sources:

Surgical teams performing transplants around the clock 10

Hospitals carrying out multiple transplants concurrently

Over ten, twenty, or even more kidney transplants being conducted in a single day 11

Bed utilization rates exceeding capacity

Expansion of transplant wards and construction of new buildings12

Official Numbers Debunked

The number of transplants in China is falsified level by level due to unexplainable organ procurement sources and financial incentives for hospitals and doctors13 As a result, the true, absolute number may forever remain unknown.

In recent years, Chinese officials have often claimed a total of 10,000 transplants per year.14 However, we analyzed data concerning individual hospitals and doctors and found that this official figure is surpassed by just a few hospitals; China in fact performs the most transplants of any country in the world.15 16 As a point of reference, all transplant centers in the United States have performed an average of 6,000 liver transplants annually since 2000;17 this figure can be matched by just a few hospitals in China.

Based on government-imposed minimum capacity requirements for transplant centers, the 169 transplant hospitals approved by the Ministry of Health could have conducted between 60,000 and 100,000 transplants per year. This is equivalent to a capacity of more than one million total transplants since 2000.18

However, even this is far from the full picture. The investigators found that the vast majority of these hospitals well exceed the minimum requirements. In addition, more than 1,000 hospitals applied for permits in 2007 to continue performing transplants,19 20 which suggests that they also met the Ministry’s minimum capacity requirements. Many of them continued to perform transplants despite not having received approval.21

Organ Sources

Since 2005, Chinese government spokesmen have claimed that the vast majority of organs have come from death-row prisoners, and later, from voluntary donations. However, these two sources combined can only account for a small fraction of all transplants performed in China.

International organizations estimate the number of death-row prisoner executions in China in the thousands each year since 2000 and decreasing since then.22 23 24

Chinese tradition requires that bodies remain whole after death. China did not start piloting organ donation systems until 2010, and a national system was not established until 2013.25 Nevertheless, by 2015, it still had not produced donations on any meaningful scale.26

The 2016 independent report by Kilgour, Matas, and Gutmann states,

“The ultimate conclusion is that the Chinese Communist Party has engaged the State in the mass killings of innocents, primarily practitioners of the spiritually-based set of exercises, Falun Gong, but also Uyghurs, Tibetans, and select House Christians, in order to obtain organs for transplants.”27

A State Crime

The Chinese government prioritized organ transplantation in its national strategy starting in 2000 by investing heavily in research, development, industrialization, and transplant personnel training. Within a few years China was performing the most transplants of any country in the world.28

This exponential rise in transplants coincided with the Chinese Communist Party’s campaign to wipe out Falun Gong with directives to “ruin their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically.”

The investigators found that both military and civilian institutions implemented the large-scale organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. The central Party leadership established a unified chain of operations through various levels of the extralegal “610 Office” and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee to enable the procurement of organs on demand. The People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department has served as the core operations unit with cooperation from other military units, armed police, the medical system, and organ brokers.

The 2016 report explains,

“The Communist Party’s demonization and brutalization of Falun Gong and the health system’s insatiable demand for organs have formed a symbiosis. Each feeding on the other, the combination became an unprecedented, and barely imaginable, human catastrophe.”29

Bodies Exported Worldwide

Researchers also found evidence that the same victim groups were used not only as organ sources for transplant surgeries but also as sources for plastination specimens.30

Millions in the West have seen plastinated bodies from China on display. Furthermore, plastinated body parts from China have been sold to medical schools and universities throughout the Western world.

Plastination exhibits give an immediate, widespread, publicly visible reality to these abuses that the killing of innocents for their organs cannot.

Sources and Methodology

To gauge the development and scale of China’s organ transplantation industry, we analyzed 169 individual hospitals approved by the government to conduct transplants. Specifically, we collected data regarding transplant types performed, qualifications, revenue, potential patient demographics, bed counts, surgical and support personnel, transplant capacity and volume, research projects, relationships with other hospitals and related entities, funding, patents, and awards.

To estimate the true volume of transplants performed independent of official government figures, we referred to policies and regulations published by the Ministry of Health and its successor, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, which sets minimum bed count requirements transplant centers must meet to maintain their qualifications. We then incorporated bed utilization rates and lengths of hospitalization from primary hospital sources and other published materials to provide the minimum system-wide capacity among the 169 approved transplant centers since 2000.

To determine the sources of organs used, we tracked the evolving policies surrounding China’s officially acknowledged sources of death-row prisoners and recently introduced voluntary donation programs, including from relatives, cadavers, and donations after cardiac death. We are unable to calculate precise transplant volumes due to state censorship and widespread falsification of public data. Therefore, we qualitatively compared the number of transplants possible from officially claimed sources against the total transplant volume estimated above to determine the gap representing unaccountable organs.

We then examined Party and state policies that have resulted in the extralegal killing of prisoners of conscience and how state, military, and civilian institutions have been mobilized to conduct organ harvesting from these unwilling “donors.”

All of our data has been sourced from Chinese medical journals, media reports, official statements, web archives, government policies, national strategic programs and fund allocations, and other public sources. Researchers also made phone calls to hospitals to verify the status of their organ transplant programs and other key information.

The following is a summary of our findings. The transplant hospital database is available separately.

References

1

"Bloody Harvest F.C 31) A confession Authors: David Kilgour and David Matas"

Original: http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc160145143 "Bloody Harvest F.C 31) A confession Authors: David Kilgour and David Matas"Original:

2

"Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China. David Matas and David Kilgour. 6 July 2006."

Original: http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0607/report060706-eng.pdf "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China. David Matas and David Kilgour. 6 July 2006."Original:

3

"The Slaughter : Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem Authors: Ethan Gutmann"

Original: http://ethan-gutmann.com/the-slaughter/ "The Slaughter : Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem Authors: Ethan Gutmann"Original:

4

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/an-update/ "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

5

"China Liver Transplant Registry’s 2006 Annual Report China Liver Transplant Registry"

Original: http://web.archive.org/web/20160216043257/

Archived:

《中国肝移植注册2006年度报告》 来源：中国肝移植注册网 "China Liver Transplant Registry’s 2006 Annual Report China Liver Transplant Registry"Original:Archived: http://www.slideserve.com/lerato/2006 《中国肝移植注册2006年度报告》 来源：中国肝移植注册网

6

"YunNan Kidney Disease Hospital—a branch of the Yunnan Province Organ Transplant Center"

Original: http://www.minghui.org/mh/article_images/2008-9-5-kunming-kidney-02.jpg

云南肾脏病医院-云南省器官移植中心分部 "YunNan Kidney Disease Hospital—a branch of the Yunnan Province Organ Transplant Center"Original:云南肾脏病医院-云南省器官移植中心分部

7

"Bloody Harvest: Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China (Revised Edition) Appendix 5. The Recipient Experience January 1, 2007 David Matas, David Kilgour"

Original: http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc158023098

《血淋淋的器官摘取—关于指控中共摘取法轮功学员器官的调查报告修订版》 "Bloody Harvest: Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China (Revised Edition) Appendix 5. The Recipient Experience January 1, 2007 David Matas, David Kilgour"Original:《血淋淋的器官摘取—关于指控中共摘取法轮功学员器官的调查报告修订版》

8

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 285~286 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 285~286 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

9

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 346~349 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 346~349 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

10

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 314~315 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 314~315 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

11

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 287~288 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 287~288 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

12

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 304~314 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 304~314 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

13

"Organ source transformed, however the number of transplant rises up instead of falling downing Source: Beijing Youth Daily October 15th, 2015"

Original: http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2015-10/19/content_159772.htm

Archived:

黄洁夫：器官来源转型 移植数不降反升 《北京青年报》 2015年10月15日 "Organ source transformed, however the number of transplant rises up instead of falling downing Source: Beijing Youth Daily October 15th, 2015"Original:Archived: https://archive.is/T3N0y 黄洁夫：器官来源转型 移植数不降反升 《北京青年报》 2015年10月15日

14

"WHO Officials Claim Organ Transplants in China Becoming Transparent China News Service, Aug 20, 2015 www.hb.chinanews.com/news/2015/0820/222847.html"

Original: https://archive.is/8OlTf

《中新网》 世卫官员称中国器官移植变得阳光透明 Aug 20, 2015 - 中新社 "WHO Officials Claim Organ Transplants in China Becoming Transparent China News Service, Aug 20, 2015 www.hb.chinanews.com/news/2015/0820/222847.html"Original:《中新网》 世卫官员称中国器官移植变得阳光透明 Aug 20, 2015 - 中新社

15

"Founder of Liver Surgery Wu Mengchao Shares Liver Disease Prevention and Secret to Long Life Source: Sina Health May 11, 2011 Reporter: Song Ruliang, etc."

Original: http://health.sina.com.cn/d/2011-05-11/145222445449.shtml

Archived:

《新浪健康》肝脏外科创始人吴孟超分享肝病防治与长寿秘诀2011年05月11日 "Founder of Liver Surgery Wu Mengchao Shares Liver Disease Prevention and Secret to Long Life Source: Sina Health May 11, 2011 Reporter: Song Ruliang, etc."Original:Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20120327035615/http://health.sina.com.cn/d/2011-05-11/145222445449.shtml 《新浪健康》肝脏外科创始人吴孟超分享肝病防治与长寿秘诀2011年05月11日

16

"Beyond the Dark Veil of China’s Organ Trade Source:Phoenix Weekly Dated:September 24, 2013 The original page has been removed from:"

Original: http://www.51fenghuang.com/news/shehui/2412.html

Archived:

中国人体器官买卖的黑幕 《凤凰周刊》2013-9-24 "Beyond the Dark Veil of China’s Organ Trade Source:Phoenix Weekly Dated:September 24, 2013 The original page has been removed from:"Original:Archived: https://archive.is/B36qx 中国人体器官买卖的黑幕 《凤凰周刊》2013-9-24

17

"Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network National Data, as of January 10, 2017"

Original: https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/data/view-data-reports/national-data/# "Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network National Data, as of January 10, 2017"Original:

18

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 372~374 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 372~374 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

19

"Climbing the peak of transplantation, continue the wonderfulness of life"

Original: https://archive.is/DATK4

攀登移植之巅 延续生命精彩 "Climbing the peak of transplantation, continue the wonderfulness of life"Original:攀登移植之巅 延续生命精彩

20

"Climbing the peak of transplantation, continue the wonderfulness of life"

Original: http://www.dfmhp.com.cn/a/dongfengyilin/xingyedongtai/2010/1222/3020.html

Archived:

https://archive.is/DATK4DATK4DATK4DATK4SzewF 攀登移植之巅 延续生命精彩 武大肝胆疾病研究院：器官移植与时间赛跑 "Climbing the peak of transplantation, continue the wonderfulness of life"Original:Archived: http://www.transplantation.org.cn/zyienizhonghe/2015-05/7432.htm https://archive.is/DATK4DATK4DATK4DATK4SzewF 攀登移植之巅 延续生命精彩 武大肝胆疾病研究院：器官移植与时间赛跑

21

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 372~374 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 372~374 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

22

"People’s Republic of China Executed “according to law”? – The death penalty in China, Amnesty International, AI Index: ASA 17/003/2004" "People’s Republic of China Executed “according to law”? – The death penalty in China, Amnesty International, AI Index: ASA 17/003/2004"

23

"Roger Hood – ‘Abolition of the Death Penalty China in World Perspective’ (2009) 1CityUHKLRev1" "Roger Hood – ‘Abolition of the Death Penalty China in World Perspective’ (2009) 1CityUHKLRev1"

24

"The Next Frontier National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia Studies in Crime and Public Policy, David T Johnson, Franklin E Zimring" "The Next Frontier National Development, Political Change, and the Death Penalty in Asia Studies in Crime and Public Policy, David T Johnson, Franklin E Zimring"

25

"Huang Jiefu: I only watched once the organ extraction procedure and felt changed needed Phoenix TV 2015-01-11"

Original: http://news.ifeng.com/a/20150111/42906812_0.shtml

Archived:

黄洁夫：我只看过一次摘取器官 觉得需要改变 凤凰卫视 2015年01月11日 "Huang Jiefu: I only watched once the organ extraction procedure and felt changed needed Phoenix TV 2015-01-11"Original:Archived: https://archive.is/YxJwf 黄洁夫：我只看过一次摘取器官 觉得需要改变 凤凰卫视 2015年01月11日

26

"“Huang Jiefu: ‘Can death-row prisoners donate organ?’ is a pseudo-proposition” , Beijing Youth Daily. November 23, 2015"

Original: http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2015-11/23/content_167300.htm?div=-1

Archived:

黄洁夫：死囚可否捐器官是伪命题 《北京青年报》, 2015年11月23日 "“Huang Jiefu: ‘Can death-row prisoners donate organ?’ is a pseudo-proposition” , Beijing Youth Daily. November 23, 2015"Original:Archived: https://archive.is/hSlEd 黄洁夫：死囚可否捐器官是伪命题 《北京青年报》, 2015年11月23日

27

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 352~363 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 352~363 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

28

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 352~363 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 352~363 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original:

29

"Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 424~425 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"

Original: http://endorganpillaging.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bloody_Harvest-The_Slaughter-June-23-V2.pdf "Bloody Harvest/The Slaughter: An Update page 424~425 Authors: David Kilgour, Ethan Gutmann, and David Matas, June 22, 2016"Original: