Gazet van Antwerpen, Tuesday 28 November 2006
In China you can buy a kidney or liver with the same ease as buying a portion of Chinese take-away here in Belgium. Fill out a form, briefly describe your problem and off course dona??t forget to mention your blood type and a few days later you will get a phone call from the land of thee and rice. Senator Patrick van Krunkelsven tried it and he was able to make an appointment. What he did, didn't bring any news. At the beginning of this year, now 9 months ago, British undercover journalists made a documentary about this organ trade. In spring time horrible pictures from executed Falun Gong prisoners were spread upon which their organs were sold.
In the beginning people reacted with disbelief. Organ trade itself goes against every ethical principle. But organ trade from prisoners convicted to death, whom were not even informed, let alone with their consent!? Disbelief made room for collective indignation. Flemish N-VA members of parliament wrote letters to ministers and the Chinese embassy. Six months after this date they received only one polite letter. Only minister-president Leterme found it worthwhile to answer the open letter.
Organ trade is of all ages, confirm the kidney specialists. The market follows the request and the demand grows day after day. Ten years ago wealthy westerners went to India, where a poor man from India bought himself a future with one of his kidneys. But the quality of the organs was bad: the owner was undernourished, the kidney had a lot of diseases. Now things moved to China. Those who have money can buy their health. And the Chinese quality is good, Western kidney specialists assure cynically.
Indignation has exceeded the disbelief. There are voices who call for a stricter regulation, a boycott of the Olympic Games, a review of the trade relations with China. What if it's your child that's listed on an endless list for a kidney. What if it's your mother who is weakening. What if it's your partner whom you are loosing because the list for a liver transplant is too long. When death knocks on your door, you are prepared to do a lot and pay a lot of money. In the battle of life even legal borders disappear. What if it's your child?
But is that the discussion? Now it is China, later it will be Brasil or Kenya or God knows which country. The demand determines the market. Dona??t we have to go to the crux of the case? There are still always more people who die than there are civilians who need an organ. More than a thousand Belgian people are waiting for a phone call that liberates them delivering the message that a kidney is available. More than 2 00 are waiting for a liver. Almost 50,000 Belgian people are registered as an organ donor. Barely 50,000. The people who take no action not to be an organ donor, is basically an organ donor, but doctors still ask families if they can use the organs of the recently deceased family member. Many refuse.
But if the organs of every qualified dead person would be donated, there would be no market for the Chinese matter.