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NGOs plan declaration on forced organ-harvesting

An Irish doctor will be among the speakers at a summit on forced organ-harvesting, organised by Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), a medical-ethics group that campaigns against the practice.

More than 35 international experts will discuss the issue – from medical, legal, political, media, civil society and policy-making perspectives – in a series of online webinars that will take place from 17 to 26 September.

The organisers will also announce the launch of a declaration that will be presented to the public at the end of the event.

‘Systematic’

“The event, open to experts and the public, addresses the forced harvesting of organs from living people not only as a violation of medical ethics and basic human rights, but also as an atrocity against humankind in nature,” the organisers say.

The five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) co-hosting the summit are:

• DAFOH, USA,
• CAP Freedom of Conscience, France,
• Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplants,
• Korea Association for Ethical Organ Transplants, and
• The Transplant Tourism Research Association, Japan.

They say that “systematic” organ-harvesting is taking place in China, targeting religious groups and minorities.

Among the speakers at the event is Declan Lyons (Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin), the Irish representative of DAFOH.