A senior court official said on Tuesday that China has strict
restrictions on the use of organs of executed criminals, and cases
of such usage are "quite exceptional."
"Actually, the main source of organs for transplant in China is
voluntary donation by deceased citizens in accordance with their
last wills," said the official with China's Supreme People's Court
in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, who asked not to be
identified.
The official said it is impossible for any health organizations
or scientific research institutions to make use of the organs of
executed criminals unless the criminals have voluntarily expressed
the wish to donate their organs and signed relevant documents
before death, or their families have given consent to such
usage.
Such usage must also go through strict examination and get
approval of the judicial departments, the official added.
"There is no difference in the procedures of body or organ
donation between deceased ordinary citizens and executed
criminals," said the official.
As voluntary donations of organs by executed criminals are not
against the law but in the interest of mankind, "such wishes (of
the criminals) should be respected," said the official.
The official said courts have always and would continue to
strictly abide by the law concerning the tightly-restricted use of
organs of executed criminals, and effectively safeguard the rights
and interests of prisoners subject to death penalty.
(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2007)