Biological Colonialism: China Organ Trade Thriving

I never believed the Chinese Government’s assurances that they were going to dismantle the organ trade in their country.  And now, it seems that the supposed effort has predictably failed. From the story:

Organ trafficking in China is more active than ever despite efforts to crack down on the trade, with kidneys being openly bought and sold online in a dozen cities across the country. The Chinese Government has tried to limit organ trafficking by launching a national organ donation system earlier this year. But the program is failing to attract donors, with China boasting one of the lowest organ donation rates in the world, and instead people are turning to organ trading websites. One Chinese kidney trading website is packed with organ brokers’ advertisements where contact numbers are openly on display.

Here’s the thing, though. Regulation and law alone cannot stop biological colonialism. That requires principle—a belief in human exceptionalism, meaning none of us should be turned into natural resourses, and certainly, none of us killed for organs—and virtue.   The Chinese who kill and sell—and the buyers, mostly from the rich West who know the source of the products they purchase—lack both.