Continued Growth After International Attention in 2006

After the harvesting of organs from non-consenting prisoners received international attention in 2006, the Ministry of Health implemented a new approval system for transplant hospitals. Among the 1,000 that applied, 169 eventually received permits to continue performing transplants.

Our research found that, while some smaller, unapproved institutions either reduced or stopped transplant operations, others that could still obtain organs continued to operate. Large, approved institutions achieved even greater growth with decreased competition. Thus, the industry as a whole has continued to grow steadily since 2006.

Hospitals have added transplant beds, opened new wards, and moved into new buildings.¹

Huang Jiefu, a top transplant official, has announced plans to increase the number of qualified transplant hospitals from 169 to 300 and even 500 within a few years.^{2 3 4 5}

“Our country’s liver transplantation business has entered a period of stable development. The liver transplant business at First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University is flourishing. It moved into a new building in 2007. Liver transplantation has become more systematic, professional, and large-scale.”

—Website of the Liver Transplant Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University

Actual Volume Order of Magnitude Greater Than Official Figure

The investigators found that China performs the most transplants of any nation in the world.^{6 7} Since 2000, the U.S. has performed an average of approximate 6,000 liver transplants a year.⁸ In China, this figure is matched by just a few hospitals. Tianjin Oriental Organ Transplant Center, for instance, has more than 500 dedicated transplant beds.

Based on government-imposed minimum capacity requirements for transplant centers and other data, the 169 Ministry-approved transplant hospitals could have conducted 60,000 to 100,000 transplants per year. Thus, these 169 approved hospitals had the capacity to perform more than one million total transplants since 2000.⁹

China’s official figure of 10,000 transplants per year¹⁰ is surpassed by just a few hospitals. However, even this is far from the full picture. More than 1,000 hospitals applied for permits in 2007 to continue performing transplants.^{11 12} This suggests they also met the Ministry’s minimum capacity requirements for transplant centers it certifies. Many of them continued to perform transplants despite not having received approval.¹³

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