(Clearwisdom.net) On November 12, the 2007 Organ Donation Congress was
held in the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. The goal of this meeting was to address
the worldwide organ shortage crisis with participating surgeons and scientists
from 26 countries. Outside the hotel, Falun Gong practitioners from Philadelphia
displayed banners to call attention to the ongoing organ harvesting atrocities
in China. Philadelphia practitioners protested the
CCP's organ harvesting atrocities According to the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun
Gong (WOIPFG), organ harvesting from living people is still taking place in
China despite the Chinese Communist Party's open denials and enactment of new
regulations on organ trading. Zhonghua Chen, deputy director of the Organ
Transplant Division of the Chinese Medical Association, also serves as the lead
surgeon of the "Brain Dead" research team in Wuhan Tongji Hospital and
has performed 23 organ transplant operations using so-called "Brain
Dead" donors. According to international medical ethical standards, organs
should not be removed from these "Brain Dead" individuals because
there is a conflict of interest in such cases. However, this practice continues
in China and Chen claims 23 of 24 such cases reported in China to be successful.
Outside the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, practitioners protested Chen's
participation in this organ donation congress. In a phone interview conducted by the World Organization to Investigate the
Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), Wuhan Tongji Hospital acknowledged that some
organs used by the hospital were from living Falun Gong practitioners. Chen is
the director of the Organ Transplant Center of the hospital. When interviewed by
the South China Post, Chen said that the Chinese pay no attention to moral
issues raised by organ transplantation. To his knowledge, he said that he only
knew of about two dozens organ transplant cases in which the family members'
permission was obtained. According to published data, Chinese doctors performed
3741 liver, 8103 kidney, and 80 heart transplants in 2005. During a break at the 2007 Organ Donation Congress, Lori Tackett-Manes from
the New Mexico Organ Donation Service Center expressed her view of the organ
harvesting atrocities: "This is absolutely illegal. It is inhumane and must
be stopped. How can a doctor who has done such evil things be invited to give a
talk?" Ms. Tackett-Manes said that her job is to save people while Chen's
job is to kill people for money. She said that she would let more people know
about Chen's crimes. Outside the hotel, protester Jessica Russo said: "The CCP's organ
harvesting atrocities are horrifying. This is not just a Falun Gong issue, it is
related to all of us. We have the responsibility to end it." While there
are nearly 100,000 American patients waiting for organs, she said: "This
can be the excuse to kill, and we cannot allow this organ harvesting practice to
continue." According to WOIPFG, the organ harvesting crimes originate in labor camps,
detention centers, prisons and hospitals throughout China. Since the persecution
of Falun Gong started in July 1999, organ transplant cases in China have
escalated and the total far surpasses the number of executed prisoners,
suggesting that there are other organ sources. Meanwhile, phone investigations
conducted by the organization suggest that detained practitioners have been
widely used by the CCP as organ sources. Philadelphia resident Mr. Wu said: "We appeal to all kindhearted people
to help us end the persecution of Falun Gong and the atrocities of organ
harvesting. Under communist rule, many people have become indifferent to
atrocities and thus have committed crimes, including killing of this kind. We
also hope that Dr. Chen will stop killing innocent practitioners in his
operating room." Reportedly, an organizer of the congress said that they were against the
horrifying practice of harvesting organs from living people and they regretted
inviting Chen as a speaker. With the growing awareness of the organ harvesting atrocities taking place in
China, people around the world have taken concrete actions. In Taiwan, to
prevent Chinese surgeons from soliciting patients, the Mainland Affairs Council
has banned all commercial visits of Chinese transplant doctors, while purely
academic visits will be also be closely monitored.
Posting date: 11/20/2007
Original article date: 11/20/2007
Category: Falun Dafa Worldwide
Translated on 11/19/2007
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/11/18/166795.html