How much is your body worth?
| Organ | Profit |
|---|---|
| Kidney | $62,000 |
| Liver | $98,000 – $130,000 |
| Heart | $130,000 – $160,000 |
| Kidney and pancreas | $150,000 |
| Lung | $150,000 – $170,000 |
| Liver and kidney | $160,000 – $180,000 |
These values come from the China International Transplantation Network Assistance Center (CITNAC) at www.zoukiishoku.com. CITNAC was founded in the transplantation institute at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. Its website was shutdown soon after organ harvesting was exposed, here is the archived page.[1]
Furthermore, the China Southern Weekendreported, "The Oriental Organ Transplant Center's rapid growth has brought about huge revenue and profits. According to previous media reports, liver transplants alone bring the Center an annual income of 100 million yuan".[2]
According to a Phoenix Weekly 2006 report, "In 2004, the fee for a liver transplant at the Oriental Organ Transplant Center was $32,000 (approximately 250,000 yuan). In 2005, it was over $40,000 (approximately 330,000 yuan). Some intermediary agencies charged a brokering fee as high as USD 13,000."[3]
"This barbaric human rights abuse must be stopped." -Chris Smith, U.S. Congressman (R-NJ)
People with financial means are willing to buy organs at a high cost, and the huge profit pushes the hospitals to pursue new sources of organs by all means necessary to increase their profit margins. Given China's political and legal environment, certain groups of people become especially susceptible targets. Namely, Falun Gong practitioners.
Skyrocketing Business
There were more than 600 hospitals and over 1,700 doctors engaged in organ transplant surgeries in 2007.
By comparison, the United States has about 130 hospitals specializing in liver transplant surgery, and fewer than 244 kidney transplant centers, according to
The statistics published by the Tianjin Oriental Organ Transplant Center and the No. 2 Hospital of the Second Military Medical University (also known as Shanghai Changzheng Hospital), two hospitals that have close ties to the Chinese military, provide a glimpse into the rapid growth of China's organ transplant market.
Number of completed liver transplant surgeries published on the website of Tianjin Oriental Organ Transplant Center in 2004. The center claimed its quantity was No. 1 in the world.[4]
Number of completed liver transplant surgeries published on the website of No. 2 Hospital of the Second Military Medical University.[5]
References
[1] The Cost of The Transplantation, China International Transplantation Network Assistance Center (CITNAC), http://web.archive.org/web/20050407211151/http://en.zoukiishoku.com/list/cost.htm, http://archive.is/KGEJX.
[2] Chen Gong, "China Stops "Organ Transplant Tourism", China Southern Weekend （中国叫停“器官移植旅游, 南方周末, 记者 成功, 2007-12-18）, 2007-12-18）， source: http://www.infzm.com/content/9556, http://archive.is/js308
[3] Chen Yanhui, "Mainland China Becomes the New World Center of Global Organ Transplant Tourism", Phoenix Weekly,(“数万外国人赴华移植器官调查， 大陆成全球器官移植新兴中心”， 《凤凰周刊》，2006年第5期, 记者 谌彦辉), archived source: http://web.archive.org/web/20100611090330/http://news.ifeng.com/phoenixtv/83932384042418176/20060222/751049.shtml
[4]Two weeks waiting time, Oriental Organ Transplant Center in Tianjin, source: http://web.archive.org/web/20060207021805/http://www.ootc.net
[5]Organ Transplant Institute of the People's Liberation Army in Shanghai, source: http://web.archive.org/web/20050317130117/http://www.transorgan.com/about_g_intro.asp