Chinese House Church Members Suspected Targets of Organ Harvesting Among Minority Groups

Operation
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Chinese house church members are suspected to be among the minority groups targeted for organ harvesting in China, as revealed by a doctor with experience in the country's hospital system. Dr. Enver Tohti, now residing in London, admitted to removing organs from prisoners disabled by gunshots and effectively killing them in the process.

'Target for Organs Harvesting'

According to a report from Premier Christian News, Dr. Tohti, who used to work as a surgeon, recalled an incident in 1995 where he extracted a liver and two kidneys from a half-executed man. He said the victim was shot in the right chest, ensuring a slower death and allowing enough time for organ extraction. The issue of organ harvesting has gained renewed attention following a BBC investigation that uncovered the practice of "organ tourists" traveling abroad to bypass lengthy NHS waiting lists and pay for urgent transplants. As mentioned, the UK has made obtaining paid-for transplants abroad illegal since July 2022, and medical professionals are now obligated by law to report individuals who require aftercare after such procedures.

Dr. Tohti emphasized that China lacks a system akin to the NHS for organ donation and heavily relies on alternative sources. Despite this, China performs one of the highest transplant operations globally. As the CEO of the World Uyghur Christian Union, Dr. Tohti, a former Muslim, believes that China's healthcare system serves the interests of the ruling Communist Party rather than the well-being of its people. He suspects that the Chinese authorities have built a national organ database to ensure a rapid supply of organs, possibly within two weeks.

Also Read: Chinese Christian Church Members Detained in Thailand; Fear Persecution in China

Organ Harvesting in China

Organ transplantation is a therapy that saves the lives of millions of patients and is one of the most outstanding achievements of modern medicine. However, a limited supply of donor organs and a massive demand for transplants have fueled the global organ trafficking industry, which exploits impoverished, less fortunate, and persecuted members of society as a source of organs purchased by wealthy transplant tourists, The Conversation reported. Although the practice occurs in many countries, the situation in China is particularly concerning. China is reportedly the only country in the world with an industrial-scale organ trafficking practice that harvests organs from executed prisoners of conscience. The practice is known as forced organ harvesting.

Currently, China's organ transplant program is the second largest in the whole wide world. There was not a proportionate increase in the number of people voluntarily donating organs in China at the same time that there was an increase in the number of transplant surgeries, which led to doubts regarding the origin of the organs. During the rapid growth in the transplant industry, the Chinese government was detaining, persecuting, and even killing many practitioners of the Buddhist Qi gong practice known as Falun Gong. Similarly, China 2017 initiated a campaign against Tibetans, including widespread incarceration, monitoring, sterilization, and forced labor.

Moreover, the Human Rights Commission stated that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a significant source of organs taken by force and sold on the black market. Falun Gong practitioners have been the primary victims of this cruel practice. There are now claims that imprisoned Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities are also victims, based in part on reports of mandatory medical testing in Xinjiang that sounds like preparation for organ removal.

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