China will be halting its operations on organ transplants from executed prisoners starting Jan. 1 as concerns regarding human rights were raised, according to reports from the state media on Thursday.
Previously, China already announced that it will be ending the prisoner organ transplants by 2015, but the Thursday report from the state media is the first to indicate the specific date. The state media cited Huang Jiefu, who is considered as the architect of the country's transplant system.
The practice has been long protested by both domestic critics and international human rights activists, saying that standard safeguards were continually being ignored during extraction of the prisoners' organs who are allegedly pressured to give up organs.
However, there is also uncertainties regarding where the replacement organs will be coming from as China's organ donation level is already one of the world's lowest. This is due to deep-rooted cultural beliefs and the fact that family members of the would-be organ donor are required to give consent, even if the donor already wants to donate.
According to Huang's statement on Wednesday, China's donation rate stands at only 0.6 percent per 1 million citizens, compared to Spain's 37 per 1 million citizens.
"It can't be denied that at present, apart from the traditional thinking that keeps enthusiasm for organ donation low, people also have concerns as to whether organ donation can be fair, just and transparent," said Huang.
Huang currently oversees the nation's organ extraction network. The former deputy health minister was unreachable on Thursday as calls to the Chinese organ donation center and even to his private numbers were unanswered.