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China admits death row organ use

Published:Thursday | August 27, 2009 | 5:24 PM

China is trying to move away from the use of executed prisoners as the major source of organs for transplants.



According to the China Daily newspaper, executed prisoners currently provide two-thirds of all transplant organs.



But the government is now launching a voluntary donation scheme, which it hopes will also curb the illegal trafficking in organs.



But analysts say cultural bias against removing organs after death will make a voluntary scheme hard to implement.