Ethical and policy considerations for organ trafficking and transplant tourism:Based on the UK's first international case of human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal

This study examines the UK's May 2023 judgment in an international organ trafficking and organ tourism case.Human trafficking for organ removal is one of the least understood but growing forms of trafficking worldwide.Countries in the Middle East,Asia,and the Americas are often widely criticized by the international transplant community as sites for organ trafficking.However,we believe that when discussing this issue,it is not just these areas that need to be addressed.What is particularly special is that this case not only involves transnational human trafficking,organ trafficking,and illegal organ transplantation interest chains but also involves the participation of national political officials and complex social and humanistic factors.This article focuses on the current ethical and policy issues involved in organ transplant tourism and organ trafficking and analyzes the implications of this case for our country's donation and transplantation work.

Chinese academic community speaks out on He Jiankui again:Consensus statement on the challenges and responses of science and technology ethics governance

At the end of 2019,He Jiankui was sentenced to 3 years in prison for“illegal medical practices”.The Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Health Commission of P.R.China have banned him from engaging in any work related to reproductive science such as in vitro fertilization,and prohibited him from conducting further research in genetic editing.On November 24,2022,He Jiankui announced on his personal Weibo account for the establishment of the He Jiankui Laboratory in Beijing's Daxing district,and extensively promoted his rare disease research plan through social media and the press,calling it a“new starting point,a new journey”.

Xenotransplantation--reflections on the bioethics

Background:Similar to most countries in the world,China has a severe shortage of human organs,and this is one of the main issues restricting the application of organ transplantation technology.In 2019 alone,only 19,454(23.90%)of the 81,410 people waiting were able to receive organ transplants.There is an increasing focus from both the medical profession and society on how to fill the gap between supply and demand.Methods:Xenotransplantation using animal organs is being considered as one option to make up for the shortage of human organs for transplantation.For some years now,the international medical community has been examining the possibility of using animal organs for human transplant.However,the research has faced two important types of challenges:scientific and ethical issues.Results:In January 2021,the first clinical trial of transgenic pig heart transplantation into a human recipient was completed by the Medical Center of the University of Maryland in the United States.This has stimulated enthusiasm and interest in xenotransplantation.Conclusions:The trend towards xenotransplantation has highlighted global problems such as the severe shortage of organ transplant donors and the high cost of organ transplantation.China needs to consider how to cope with the scientific,public health,and social ethics challenges of xenotransplantation clinical trials.