More than 1.5 million prisoners and Falun Gong practitioners are being forcefully executed for their organs to serve a thriving transplant trade, worth $1 billion. Although they have repeatedly denied all accusations about organ harvesting, China has claimed that they would stop accumulation from executed prisoners in 2015. But evidence suggests that the practice is still ongoing.

Forced harvesting involves people who are killed for their organs. Proper organ donating involves people who voluntarily give their organs after death. But since there are far more organs needed than organ donors, illegal organ donation has increased on the black market. 

In June, the China Tribunal, an independent organization created to investigate organ harvesting crimes, reported that Chinese prisoners have had their organs harvested, sometimes before they are killed. Human rights lawyers estimated that 65,000 Falun practitioners were killed for their organs since 2001, including Uyghurs and Tibetans.

An example of one Falun practitioner is Jiang Xiqing who was murdered for his organs. Chinese police arrested him and put him in a forced labor camp on May 14, 2008. Six hours after his arrest, Jiang Xiqing was pronounced dead. 

At around 10:00 p.m on January 28, 2009, his children found that his abdomen, chest, thighs, and philtrum were still warm, though he was found in a refrigerator. Like any children might do, they alerted those nearby. According to minghui.org, they cried out, “Our father didn’t die. He is alive! ‘Hurry up, please save our dad! Save our dad! He is still alive!”

Members of the family tried to do CPR but were quickly dragged out. After the incident, they received an autopsy report which showed broken ribs and missing organs. 

Because the Chinese government is so corrupt, it is unlikely that the practice of organ harvesting will come to an end. Though there may be organizations that have attempted to bring awareness to the issue, the Chinese government has neglected to end the practice.