Voluntary donation the only legal source of organs in China: medical expert

BEIJING - Organs are now collected from voluntary donors, a top medical expert said at an ongoing workshop on organ donation and transplants.

"China is proud of the organ donation and transplant system that has developed since 2015, when the practice of harvesting of organs from condemned prisoners was outlawed," said Huang Jiefu, director of China's National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, on Monday.

The workshop will last three days from Monday to Wednesday.

In 2007, China issued regulations on voluntary organ donation and banned organ trading, said Huang.

According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, China processed 2,950 organ donations in the first nine months of this year, up 50 percent year on year.

This exceeds the number undertaken in 2015, which stood at 2,766, said a statement.