Author of ‘Killed to Order’ Unveils Systemic ‘On-Demand’ Organ Harvesting in China

By Lin Feng, Vision Times

Long-standing allegations that prisoners of conscience in China are being killed for their organs remain one of the most controversial and disturbing human rights issues facing the international community.

On Feb. 16, Jan Jekielek, author of “Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry & the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary,” discussed the issue in an interview with Voice of America (VOA), summarizing nearly two decades of investigations, academic research, survivor testimony, and independent legal findings. Jekielek argues that the evidence suggests organ harvesting in China has not been isolated misconduct but involves systemic practices linked to state institutions.

Though the Chinese government has denied allegations of forced organ harvesting, stating that since 2015 the country has relied exclusively on a voluntary organ donation system that comply with international standards, questions surrounding transplant volume, transparency, and data integrity continue to generate debate among researchers and lawmakers.

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‘On-demand killing’ Success

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In the interview, Jekielek described how his awareness of the issue began in 2006, when a whistleblower using the pseudonym “Annie” alleged that detained Falun Gong practitioners were being held in facilities and killed “to order” for organ transplants. Annie claimed her former husband, a surgeon, had removed thousands of corneas from living prisoners.

Jan Jekielek, author of “Kill on Demand” and senior editor of “The Epoch Times,” was interviewed by Voice of America (VOA) on Feb. 16, 2026. (Image: via Voice of America)

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation practice rooted in the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Despite being peaceful in nature, the CCP has launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the practice since 1999. Thousands have since perished at the hands of Chinese police, with many adherents today still undergoing routine monitoring, arbitrary travel bans, and arrests.

Around the same time, Israeli transplant surgeon Dr. Jacob Lavee encountered a patient who told him he had a scheduled heart transplant appointment in China set for two weeks later. According to Jekielek’s retelling of Lavee’s account, such precise scheduling would be impossible in an ethical organ donation system unless the time of death were predetermined.

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These parallel accounts, Jekielek said, led him to conclude that something “horrific yet real” may be occurring. He argues that such a system would require a “state actor” capable of mass detention, dehumanization propaganda, and centralized coordination. Jekielek also references online advertisements from the mid-2000s allegedly offering transplant procedures within weeks for prices ranging from $150,000 to $200,000. He argues that short waiting times indicate the existence of a pre-screened donor pool.

Crop of a Protest Banner, depicting the price at which organs removed by forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China were sold for. (Image: Online Screenshot)

Based on hospital capacity studies and transplant center growth patterns, Jekielek and other researchers estimate annual transplant numbers could range from 60,000 to 90,000 cases during peak years, far above official Chinese figures. He emphasizes that these estimates are conservative and derived from hospital bed counts, surgical team data, and public records.

Jekielek notes that early independent investigations were conducted by Canadian human rights lawyers David Kilgour and David Matas, who compiled extensive evidence pointing to transplant numbers significantly exceeding that of known voluntary donor rates. Their findings were later supplemented by additional research, including work by analyst Ethan Gutmann.

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One of the most frequently cited concerns involves unusually short transplant wait times reported by some Chinese hospitals in the 2000s. In standard ethical transplant systems, organ matching often requires months or years of waiting due to the unpredictability of donor availability. Researchers argue that rapid scheduling of transplants raises questions about how organs were sourced and procured.

Crime against humanity

Over time, attention broadened beyond Falun Gong practitioners. Some researchers and advocacy groups have raised concerns about whether Uyghur Muslims detained in Xinjiang may also face heightened vulnerability as targets of the CCP. Beijing denies such claims, asserting that detention centers in Xinjiang are vocational training facilities while rejecting accusations of systemic abuse.

Academic debate has also focused on transplant data reporting. Some analysts have questioned whether official donor registry figures display statistical anomalies, suggesting potential inconsistencies. Chinese officials maintain that reforms implemented in 2015 marked a full transition away from the use of executed prisoners’ organs.

This photo taken on August 9, 2013, shows plastic surgeon Wang Xuming (C) performing a “special” nose operation on a patient at his clinic in the southwest Chinese city of Chongqing. (Image: PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)

International legal bodies have taken note. In 2019, the independent China Tribunal in London concluded that forced organ harvesting had occurred “on a significant scale.” Several Western governments have since passed or proposed legislation restricting cooperation with transplant systems suspected of unethical practices.

Mounting evidence

Human rights’ groups have cited a combination of witness testimony, hospital capacity studies, transplant center growth rates, and medical publication analysis. One recent line of research examined published Chinese transplant studies and identified cases that appeared to conflict with international “dead donor” standards, raising further ethical questions about the quick availability of organs.

The absence of transparent data remains central to the dispute. Access to transplant registries and hospital records in China is tightly controlled, making independent auditing difficult. But regardless of differing interpretations, the issue has grown beyond academic debate. Human rights advocates argue that if even a portion of the allegations were true, it would represent one of the gravest medical ethics violations of the modern era.

The controversy also intersects with international medical cooperation. Western institutions have historically engaged in research partnerships and training programs with Chinese transplant centers. Some lawmakers have called for stricter oversight to ensure ethical compliance.

Jekielek contends that the broader concern extends beyond transplant ethics to the nature of governance under CCP, arguing that systemic repression creates conditions in which vulnerable groups can be targeted and exploited while those who wield power continue to act with impunity.

As long as key data remain inaccessible and accusations remain contested, the issue of forced organ harvesting in China is likely to remain a deeply polarizing subject — one that sits at the intersection of human rights advocacy, geopolitical tension, and medical ethics.

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