n China, organs are often procured from executed prisoners. Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, estimated that 90 percent of organs from China are from deceased prisoners.[3] Despite the legality of the process in the country, there is evidence that the government attempted to downplay the scope of organ harvesting through confidentiality agreements[4] and laws such as the Temporary Rules Concerning the Utilization of Corpses or Organs from the Corpses of Executed Prisoners.[5] Even with this lax regulation, China still suffered a shortage of organs for transplant.
The Chinese government, after receiving severe scrutiny from the rest of the world,[6] has passed legislation ending the legal sale of organs. No legislation currently prohibits the collection of organs from deceased inmates who sign agreements before execution. Recently, China has introduced new legislation in order to standardize its organ collection process. This legislation includes regulations stating which hospitals can perform operations and what the legal definition of brain-death is. Foreign transplant patients are no longer accepted. Since China has ceased the legal sale of organs, global prices are estimated to have risen 40%