China to end use of prisoners' organs for transplants in mid-2014

By Li Hui and Ben Blanchard HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China, the only country that still systematically takes organs from executed prisoners for use in transplant operations, plans to end the controversial practice by the middle of next year, a senior official said on Saturday. By mid-2014, all hospitals licensed for organ transplants will be required to stop using organs from executed prisoners and only use those voluntarily donated and allocated through a fledging national system, said Huang Jiefu, a former deputy health minister who heads the organ transplant reform. The supply of human organs falls far short of demand in China due in part to a traditional belief that bodies should be buried or cremated intact.

via Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/china-end-prisoners-organs-transplants-mid-2014-085837820.html