‍The Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism was held at the Vatican on Tuesday. Huang Jiefu, head of the National Human Organ Donation and Transplant Committee and president of the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation, as well as Wang Haibo, director of the China Organ Transplant Response System, were invited to the conference by the host and shared with the world the “Chinese Approach” on organ donation and transplant management.

The Summit on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism is a professional academic conference aimed at establishing a deep discussion on the current situation and trend of global human organ trafficking, as well as having the goal of contributing ideas and suggestions to further improve relevant international principles. Representatives from the UN, the EU and the World Health Organization (WHO) together with experts and scholars from over 60 countries attended the gathering.

Professor Huang proposed at the summit that the WHO should lead the initiative to set up a special committee in a bid to supervise member countries’ organ trafficking. Professor Wang further suggested that the special committee shall coordinate the cooperation among different countries on the supervision of their organ trafficking data in order to promote the efficiency of combating organ trafficking. This proposal won acclaim and response from the participants.

China in recent years has been promoting its organ donation system, as well as establishing fair allocation and traceability while strictly abiding by internationally recognized ethical principles. In 2016 alone, 4,080 organ transplant procedures were performed, seeing over 10,000 major organs donated, nearly a 50 percent increase compared to 2015, public data said. Huang Jiefu's appearance at the Vatican shows that China is now blazing a new trail which both reflects international practices, and is in accordance with China's reality.