Organ Transplants

China to stop harvesting convict organs

Jared Yee | 31 March 2012

China officials plan to end organ harvesting from death-row inmates, in a move to reform an organ donation system which has for many years relied heavily on prisoners.

Former V-P gets new heart

Michael Cook | 28 March 2012

Former US vice president Dick Cheney received a new heart recently. The operation sparked speculation that he had jumped the queue.

British doctors endorse radical solutions to organ shortage

Michael Cook | 18 February 2012

Some of the most controversial methods of obtaining organs have been endorsed by the British Medical Association in a report released this week. “Building on Progress: what next for organ donation policy in the UK?” laments “the fact that… people are still dying unnecessarily because of a lack of organs”.

Immigrant dad will miss out on transplant

Jared Yee | 03 February 2012

Jesus Navarro needs a new kidney. He has a willing donor and private insurance -- but he has been denied the transplant because he is an illegal immigrant. Administrators at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center are refusing to transplant a kidney from Navarro’s wife, saying he may not receive sufficient follow-up care, due to his uncertain status.

Organ donation overhaul contentious

Jared Yee | 17 December 2011

A New South Wales government proposal to prevent families from overturning their deceased relatives’ wishes on organ donation has garnered mixed reactions.

Alcoholics get second chance at liver transplants

Jared Yee | 18 November 2011

Gravely ill alcoholics who need a liver transplant should not always have to prove they can stay sober for six months to get one, doctors have said in a study.

Ukraine tops Europe in organ trafficking

Jared Yee | 28 October 2011

The illegal organ trafficking trade is flourishing in Ukraine as the country’s medical infrastructure and legislation make vital transplant organs hard to come by.

Daughter will receive transplant of her mother’s womb

Jared Yee | 26 October 2011

Melinda Arnold, after many years of wanting to be a mother, is set to receive a transplant of her mother’s womb.

Brazilian transplant doctors convicted after 25 years

Michael Cook | 22 October 2011

A jury in Sao Paulo has convicted three Brazilian doctors of killing four patients for their kidneys. Rui Sacramento, Pedro Torrecillas and Mariano Fiore Junior were each sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison.

Boycott China, say bioethicists

Michael Cook | 01 October 2011

Despite assurances that the practice is winding down, China persists in using organs from executed prisoners. In an editorial in The Lancet, several prominent bioethicists have called upon doctors and scientists to boycott everything related to organ transplants.

Organ trafficking on the rise in Korea

Jared Yee | 23 September 2011

“Everything has been screwed up. My last hope is to sell my kidney or liver. So please call me if you’re interested,” a message on a Korean website reads, along with a phone number.

Patients given HIV-infected organs

Jared Yee | 31 August 2011

One of Taiwan’s best hospitals has admitted that organs infected with HIV were mistakenly transplanted into 5 patients after a hospital worker misheard the donor’s test results by telephone.

China to crack down on illegal transplants

Jared Yee | 13 August 2011

China’s Ministry of Health will crack down on illegal human organ harvesting and transplants, a statement on the ministry’s website said last week.

Good intentions in the world’s organ market

Michael Cook | 30 April 2011

Convicted rapist next in line for organ transplant

Jared Yee | 29 April 2011

Convicted rapist Kenneth Pike, of New York, was expected to undergo a life-saving heart transplant that could have cost as much as US$800,000, a price that would have been funded by taxpayers.

Heated debate over Jewish organ transplants

21 January 2011

Jews debate brain death transplants