A Homeless Man’s Organs Harvested and His Body Abandoned

A body, identified as a local homeless man, was found in a reservoir near the Weishe Township of Xingyi City, Guizhou Province. It was discovered to have his organs removed. This caused a panic among local people, and particularly among other nearby homeless people, who fled the area, says some townsfolk who remain to be anonymous.

Last week, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Ministry of Propaganda issued orders to ban all news of this organ harvesting.

According to an investigation, the Third Hospital of the Zhongshan University in Guangzhou City was involved with this. Although the Southern Weekend newspaper based in Guangzhou sent reporters to investigate it, the paper did not publish any related news.

A reporter from the Beijing-based magazine Caijing went to Weishe Township and conducted a thorough investigation. The August 31 edition featured a cover page report titled “Xingyi City, Where Did the Organs Come From?”

According to the report, the victim hung around Tongxin Street near the Weishe train station and many local residents knew him. His name was Laoda. One day in June, Laoda suddenly was seen clean-shaven, with clean clothes on and a new haircut.

On June 16, Laoda’s body was found in a reservoir but his organs were all missing. People then realized that his recent change of appearance was a sign of death. He must have been taken to the hospital for examinations for the removal of his organs. His death shocked the township and all homeless in the area have since left.

News of this case was first reported on www.Transplantation.org.cn. Then the English language edition of The Global Times reported that doctors of the Third Hospital of Guangzhou Zhongshan University worked with local criminals in Guizhou Province to harvest organs, and Zhao Cheng, a doctor of a private clinic, had been arrested.

An Epoch Times reporter interviewed residents close to the Weishe train station. They all confirmed the circumstances of Laoda’s death.

Mr. Lei, who saw the victim, told this reporter that, “He helped people pick up trash. He was paid 30 or 50 cents each time. Sometimes he would find food in the trash. He did not beg for food.”

Local people indicated that similar incidents had occurred before and that beggars or homeless people have now left the area.

Mr. Lei said, “There used to be four or five beggars but now they are no longer here. This has happened three or four times. Beggars’ eyes, liver, and kidneys were removed and bodies thrown into the water or buried.”

Currently, the organ transplant license of the Third Hospital of Guangdong Zhongshan University is to be suspended, and the liver transplant operations have been ordered to stop for a month once again. Key administrators of the hospital have been arrested and are out on bail. The three doctors involved were arrested for murder and their licenses are to be suspended. This hospital is the only liver diagnostic, treatment, and research center in the world with both internal medicine and general surgery, and both Western and Chinese medicine. Its liver transplant center has conducted nearly 1,000 liver transplants.

An Epoch Times reporter called the Party Committee office of the hospital but they did not want to be interviewed. The reporter then called the liver transplant center and the doctors there did not directly address the questions, nor did they deny it.

Chinese officials admitted that China is the world leader in organ transplants and they have put forth many different versions to explain the sources of organ transplants. For example, China’s Ministry of Health has published two different versions of this particular story since Laoda’s body was discovered in June.

On April 10, China’s Ministry of Health spokesman Mao Qun’an indicated during a news conference that the major source of China’s organ transplants are from donations. Meanwhile, the use of executed criminals is rare and is approved by their families. On August 25, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health, Huang Jiefu, asserted that most organs were removed from prisoners after they are executed. Huang mentioned that it is estimated that this source of organs accounts for 65 percent of organ transplants in China.

The international community has been questioning China for its apparently readily available pool for organ transplants. This case is further evidence of the illegal sources of China’s organ transplants.

Chinese version available here.