I am very pleased to have added my name to Amendment 24. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, is to be commended for his determination on this issue. Given his previous service as a Health Minister as well as his career-long engagement at different levels of the NHS, no one can say that he does not have a good grasp of all the implications of his amendments. As he made clear, this amendment gives the power to the Government to take action in this area. It closes a gap between what is expected in terms of the origins and uses of human tissue in the UK and that which may be brought in from overseas.
As we have heard, the Human Bodies exhibitions were able to slip through this gap. It cannot be said that no problem can be envisaged. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, laid out the potentially horrendous origins of those bodies. Like the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, the noble Lord, Lord Alton, has been determined and assiduous in pursuing such cases and he is remarkable in his ability to never pass by on the other side. He made a powerful and passionate contribution here as usual.
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The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, the noble Lords, Lord Ribeiro and Lord Alton, and others have laid out, in appalling terms, the concerns that exist about organ harvesting, particularly in China, but which is known elsewhere as well, as the noble Lord, Lord Sheikh, just mentioned, particularly where poverty has often
driven unethical use of organs. There have been recent reports from Egypt, and there were persistent reports from India, for example.
With huge concern mounting about the scale of transplantation in China, and the apparently generous and immediate supply of organs, which is the polar opposite elsewhere, as the noble Lord, Lord Ribeiro, noted, the independent China Tribunal was set up. It was chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice. His background is, of course, as a prosecutor in the Bosnian war crimes tribunals. He had no background or preconceptions as to what may have happened in China.
The tribunal concluded that crimes against humanity had occurred, beyond reasonable doubt. The tribunal found that the market of human organs and tissue is a state-sanctioned project where, in many cases, victims who are persecuted for their beliefs are subsequently tortured and their organs removed while still alive. That is absolutely appalling. Evidence included recorded undercover telephone calls, some of which were at the very highest levels in the Chinese Government, including the Minister of Health and above, and which indicated the highest authority for this practice. A number of these calls indicated that human organs were available on demand. The significance of that is chilling.
We know that China, as well as many others, has aspired to lead in the field of transplantation. We have also heard from the noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Alton, and others how lucrative this field is. Doctors from leading Chinese transplant hospitals admit, in undercover phone calls, that organs harvested from Falun Gong detainees are available. A Chinese government official who called himself “the butcher” compared live organ harvesting to “slaughtering pigs”. He said:
“After scooping the organs out, I would sell them.”
Four methods of live organ harvesting were exposed during the tribunal, including killing prisoners by removing organs, lethal injection and
“Organ harvesting under the pretext of brain death”.
The tribunal concluded with certainty that acts of torture had been inflicted, particularly on the Uighur population.
Last year, the BMA medical ethics committee’s chair, John Chisholm, described forced organ harvesting as a
“gross and continuing violation of inalienable, fundamental human rights”.
We heard very clearly from the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, and the noble Lords, Lord Ribeiro and Lord Patel, the thorough case laid out by these three leading members of the medical profession. It is very clear that the last thing that the medical profession in the UK wishes is for its reputation to be tarnished by this terrible practice. Most importantly, it does not see risks, such as risks to research, if protections are put in place, as sought here. In fact, the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, made the case that the reassurance that this change would provide could help those from ethnic minorities who are reluctant to agree to organ donation from relatives who they may have lost because they know that this will not be abused.
The Minister has a reputation for doing her homework. Can she confirm that she has read the China Tribunal’s report? We hear from the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, that he is now engaging with the WHO on this matter. We know how challenging that is, as the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, outlined, due to China’s power and influence. The noble Lords, Lord Alton and Lord Collins, are right to push the Government on this matter.
Here, however, we have the means to take action which need not wait on that. It is simply permissive; it enables the Government to take action. As other noble Lords have said, it is a moral and ethical case. We have an opportunity to create regulations to help protect the UK from being complicit in such appalling crimes. I am sure that the House of Lords will support the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, on his amendment. I look forward to the Minister’s agreement to this amendment or, as my noble friend Lady Jolly has said, to her agreeing to take forward the essence of this amendment on Report.