China to cut death row organ transplants

China will reduce using the organs of executed prisoners for transplants within two years, Vice-Minister of Health Huang Jiefu said on Wednesday.

The reduction will occur as the number of people sentenced to death falls, said Huang, who admitted to China's high dependence on organ transplants from executed prisoners in 2005 during a meeting held by the World Health Organization.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show about 1.5 million people in China need organ transplants, although only some 10,000 transplants are performed annually.

Medical experts have long urged the establishment of a transparent system for organ donation and distribution in order to boost the number of organ donors.

In March 2010, the ministry and the Red Cross Society of China launched a trial public organ donation system with 465 people offering their organs by September.