Joint NGO Letter to UN Special Rapporteurs on Expansion of Transplant Facilities in Xinjiang

10 July 2025: A joint NGO letter was delivered to United Nations’ Special Rapporteurs in regards to the planned expansion of transplant facilities in Xinjiang. The letter outlines specific concerns regarding the facilities expansion and urges the UN Special Rapporteurs to send an urgent joint correspondence to the Chinese Government raising the concerns highlighted along with related questions that can be asked of Chinese officials.

The letter explains in details three major concerns:

1. Potential lack of informed consent from organ donors and risks of coercion to donate given known treatment of the Xinjiang population;
2. The planned expansion appears disproportionate given (i) Xinjiang’s low organ donation rates compared to the national average; and (ii) the number of planned facilities compared to the numbers of transplant facilities in regions with comparable population and GDP;
3. The planned expansion may reflect ongoing violations of human rights including forced organ harvesting in Xinjiang.

Excerpts of the main text below:

We wish to raise our significant concerns regarding the recent announcement by the Autonomous Region Health Commission in China to expand its human organ transplant facilities(1) in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The December 2024 plan is to open “6 more human organ transplantation medical institutions in the region by 2030”.

This announcement raises substantial human rights concerns given the credible evidence(2) that forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience has occurred in China on a significant scale, together with the ongoing, documented abuses in the region such as mass incarceration, forced labor, and the collection of biometric data(3).

We urge the UN Special Rapporteurs to take seriously the concerns outlined below and to send an urgent joint correspondence to the Chinese Government.

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2. Disproportionate Expansion
One of the most striking aspects of the 2024–2030 Xinjiang organ transplant hospital plan is the disproportionate expansion of transplant facilities compared to other regions in China, given what we know about organ donation statistics, population and economic development.

Xinjiang reportedly has an organ donation rate of 0.69 per million people, which is significantly below the national average of 4.66. Despite this, the region plans to increase its number of transplant hospitals by 2030, including six(7) new facilities across various regions of Xinjiang. Voluntary organ donation systems typically take many years to establish, and in Xinjiang, this process is further complicated by widespread mistrust stemming from the persecution of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

The transplantation facilities provided in Xinjiang are notably larger in scale than those in comparable provinces in China. Provinces with similar populations and similar or slightly higher GDP have fewer facilities than in Xinjiang, and no advertised plans for new facilities to be built in the near future. For example, Gansu Province has a population of approximately 25 million(8) (Xinjiang has 25.9 million) and a slightly lower GDP than Xinjiang. Gansu currently has 4 approved transplant centres(9): Gansu Provincial Hospital, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou University Second Hospital and Lanzhou General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Region. These facilities specialize in liver transplantation (1 facility) and kidney transplantation (3 facilities).

Jilin Province has a population of approximately 23.5 million and a slightly lower GDP than Xinjiang (see table below). Jilin Province has only 1 approved transplant centre, The First Hospital of Jilin University. China’s National Health Commission states this approved facility caters for kidney transplantation(10).

Shanxi Province and Guizhou Province both have a slightly higher GDP and approximately 10 million more people each than Xinjiang. Both provinces have fewer transplant facilities than Xinjiang. (See table 1)

Xinjiang Province
In comparison, Xinjiang currently has 3 approved transplant centres doing a wide range of transplants (11):

• People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (heart, lung, liver, kidney)(12)
• First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University (lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, small intestine)(13)
• General Hospital of Lanzhou Military Region, Urumqi (kidney)(14)

The new expanded facilities 2025 – 2030 will include “6 more human organ transplantation medical institutions in the region by 2030”(15)(16), specifically 4 in Urumqi, 1 in Southern Xinjiang, 1 in Northern Xinjiang and 1 in Eastern Xinjiang. Between these centres, there will be varying capacity for different
organs(17):

• 6 will be able to do heart transplants
• 3 will be able to do lung transplants
• 4 will be able to do liver transplants
• 5 will be able to do kidney transplants
• 4 will be able to do small intestine/pancreas

This will bring the total capacity of transplantation in Xinjiang Province, across 918 transplant centres, by 2030 to: 7 heart transplantation, 5 lung transplantation, 6 liver transplantation, 8 kidney transplantation and 5 small intestine/pancreas transplantation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no obvious reason why there is a need for this large expansion of transplant capacity in Xinjiang, given the existing transplant capacity, population and low official donation rates. In particular, this expansion raises questions when we compare capacity in Xinjiang to similar provinces.

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It is crucial for international bodies and governments to question the Chinese government about the ethical implications of this plan and demand greater transparency and safeguards to prevent potential abuses.

We urgently request that an urgent correspondence be sent to the Chinese Government raising the above concerns. Below we have detailed our concerns. This list of questions could be asked of Chinese officials.

We hope to meet with you online to discuss this concerning situation and answer any questions you may have.

Click HERE to view the full letter, which includes:

• The full list of UN Special Rapporteurs recipients and NGO signatories
• All references substantiating statements throughout
• Appendices in relation to question that can be asked of Chinese officials and further clarity in regard to continued lack of transparency in China’s organ donation and transplantation sector and how this violates the WHO Guiding Principles and Declaration of Istanbul