The definition of organ harvesting is the act of harvesting a victim's organ(s) against their will or a victim selling their organ illegally for profit. This illegal act typically involves a host of offenders that are usually medical professionals. Victims of such an act may be threatened, kidnapped, or murdered for their organs.
Common organs targeted for trade include kidneys, livers, and the heart. On top of being moral unjust, unsafe transplantation side effects can include chronic pain, numbness, death, pneumonia, blood clots, nerve damage.
As one might assume, there are various legislative restrictions on such an act;
- The UN Protocol to “Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons”, which defines organ trafficking as organ removal and sale
- The Protocol to the UN convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that the sale of anyone, especially children, for organs is a criminal offence
- World Health Organization: The Guiding Principles on Human Organ Transplantation (est. 1991, last updated 2010) , which states that the commercialization of human organs is “a violation of human rights and human dignity”
- The State Council of China in 2007, which states that China should not rely on harvesting organs from deceased prisoners
However, despite these international restrictions, organ harvesting and trafficking is still widespread throughout China. Our goal on this site is to inform readers on both the background of organ harvesting and what you can do to help fight against organ harvesting in China.
The main perpetrating issues that we have researched are the following:
Based on various perspectives, we (Students Against Organ Harvesting In China AKA SAOHIC) have constructed a proposed solution.
To learn more about the students, visit our About Us page.
P.S.
Scroll down for an informative interactive!
