LONDON — Chinese medical officials agreed Friday not to transplant organs from prisoners or others in custody, except into members of their immediate families.
The agreement was reached at a meeting of the World Medical Association in Copenhagen.
China has previously acknowledged that kidneys, livers, corneas and other organs are routinely removed from prisoners sentenced to death row. Critics argue that death-row prisoners are not truly free to consent and may feel compelled to become donors, violating personal, religious or cultural beliefs.
The announcement Friday comes after several years of discussions between the World Medical Association and the Chinese Medical Association.
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