China to lead in organ transplants by 2020

In this file photo taken on May 15, 2013, the 28-year-old Fang Hui shows off the scar from a living donor organ transplant operation where she received a portion of her sister’s liver, at a hospital in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The chief architect of China’s organ transplant program said Wednesday, July 26, 2017 that the country is on track to lead the world in transplant surgeries by 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

BEIJING—The chief architect of China’s organ transplant program says the country is on track to lead the world in transplant surgeries by 2020.

Huang Jiefu also told The Associated Press on Wednesday that China has adhered to a complete ban on the use of organs from executed prisoners that went into effect in 2015.

Others in the field outside China have called for the country to allow independent scrutiny to ensure it is keeping to its pledge.

The U.S. currently leads the world in organ transplants, with about 28,000 people receiving them each year.

Huang says China this year is on track to perform transplants on about 15,000 people but that the number is rising fast and should exceed the U.S. figure slightly by 2020 with much room to grow. JPV