An Appalling Practice - Organ Harvesting in China

July 12, 2012 - PRLog -- An Appalling Practice – Organ Harvesting in China

Woodstock, ON. … Seraphim Editions announces the publication of State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China, edited by David Matas and Dr. Torsten Trey.

State Organs is a collection of essays about the practice of illegal, forced organ harvesting of prisoners in China, including Falun Gong members who are prisoners of conscience. The essays explore the topic, providing an overview of the history of organ transplants in China, the involvement of large pharmaceutical companies in clinical trials in China, and an outline of the repression of Falun Gong and why they are particularly vulnerable to the practice of forced organ harvesting.

“In contrast to the global phenomenon of organ trafficking where the donor stays alive,” Dr. Trey says, “organ procurement practices in China are mostly based on the `intended death’ of the donor … the death that did not occur by accident or in the course of nature, but rather through the decision or intention of other people. Practitioners of the spiritual movement Falun Dafa have become the main target for this pool of living organ donors.”

The essays provide the reader with facts and statistics, thoughtful comments and witness accounts of what is going on in China’s prisons. They also offer suggestions on what governments and individuals can do to help end this crime against humanity.    

“Anyone concerned about the ethical practice of medicine,” Mr. Matas says, “will be both chilled and heartened by this book — chilled that prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, in China continue to be killed in large numbers for their organs, and heartened that leading members of the medical profession are standing up to combat this abuse."

State Organs brings together authors from four continents. Contributors include American nephrologist Gabriel Danovitch, American bioethicist Arthur Caplan, Israeli professor Jacob Lavee, Australian professor Maria Fiatarone Singh, Malaysian doctor Ghazali Ahmad, and former Canadian Member of Parliament David Kilgour.

State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China is an important publication and a complementary book to Bloody Harvest: The Killing of Falun Gong for Their Organs, by David Matas and David Kilgour (Seraphim Editions, 2009).


About the Editors
David Matas is a lawyer based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, practising immigration, refugee and international human rights law. He and David Kilgour in 2010 were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in combating Chinese organ transplant abuse.

Dr. Torsten Trey is founding member and Executive Director of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH). After learning about the systematic harvesting of organs from living prisoners of conscience against their will, he decided to shift his focus from patient care to this non-profit organization calling for an end to the unethical practice.


Book Launches (to date) for State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China –

Thursday August 30, 2012 hosted by McNally Robinson at Grant Park in the Atrium, 1120 Grant Ave., Winnipeg, MB at 7:00 p.m.

Saturday September 29, 2012 in the Perkins Centre, 1429 Main St. East, Hamilton, ON at 7:00 p.m.

Sunday September 30, 2012 at the Women’s Art Association Gallery, 23 Prince Arthur Ave., Toronto, ON at 2:00 p.m.


Seraphim Editions has published some of Canada’s best-known authors along with emerging newer voices, as well as books on vital social justice issues.

For more information or to arrange an interview with either of the editors, please contact: info@thebookband.com