WOIPFG’s Investigative Report on the Alleged Organ Harvesting of Living Falun Gong Practitioners at Wuhan Union Hospital and Its Staff Members Suspected of Participation

Sep 30th,2022

Address: 1277 Jiefang Ave, Wuhan, China

Preface

Wuhan Union Hospital is one of the largest kidney transplant centers in South Central China and a national heart transplant center with a large scale of transplants. As of January 30, 2022, Wuhan Union Hospital had performed more than 900 heart transplants, including more than 100 pediatric heart transplants[1], ranking first in the country for many years. (These numbers are only the ones officially announced. The actual transplant numbers are much larger). In 2022, the hospital established a Liver Transplant Center[2]. The hospital can perform four heart transplants simultaneously[3]. The wait time for organs in this hospital is extremely short. In June 2020, its transplant center provided a patient with four donor hearts within 13 days[4]. In May 2022, the center obtained a heart in four days[5]. Given the background of the CCP's national crime of live organ harvesting, this hospital is suspected of participating in the crime of live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and other groups.

Ⅰ. Hospital Profile

Wuhan Union Hospital is a tertiary level-A hospital. The hospital houses 5,800 licensed beds and consists of four campuses: the Main Campus, the West Campus, the Tumor Center and the Jinyinhu International Hospital. Its cardiac transplants were ranked first in China for five years in a row. It hires over 8000 employees, including over 600 professionals with senior medical titles. Besides, it has one key laboratory of the Ministry of Education, one key laboratory of the Ministry of Health and two provincial key laboratories. It also got more than 100 grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China for five consecutive years[6].

Ⅱ. The hospital has one of the largest kidney transplant centers in South Central China and established a Liver Transplant Center in 2022.

Wuhan Union Hospital obtained the kidney transplant qualification in 2007. Before being officially approved to carry out kidney transplant, the hospital had carried out various human organ transplants. Now it is home to one of the largest kidney transplant centers in South Central China[7].

According to the official website of the hospital, the Liver Transplant Center of Wuhan Union Hospital is a national key discipline, a national clinical specialty, the first batch of liver transplantation qualification centers of the National Health Commission, a doctor's and master's degree awarding unit in surgery, and a postdoctoral research station. Due to the rapid development of liver transplantation, the party committee of the hospital has made major strategic decisions and deployments based on the need for high-quality development of the hospital. In August 2022, a Liver Transplant Center was established on the West Campus of Wuhan Union Hospital[8].

Ⅲ. The hospital has a National Heart Transplant Center with the largest number of heart transplants in China.

The hospital claimed its heart transplant volume ranked first in the country (2014)[9]. According to people.com.cn, The Department of Cardiac Surgery of Wuhan Union Hospital completed 102 heart transplants in 2015, fully demonstrating the leading position of Wuhan's heart transplantation technique in China[10].

Heart transplantation at Wuhan Union Hospital developed rapidly after 2008. It completed 428 heart transplants from September 2008 to April 30, 2017. In 2016 and 2017, the number of heart transplants exceeded 100 in a single year[11].

According to an article on www.cjn.cn by Huang Jin and Wu Wei on December 15, 2015, the total number of heart transplants at Wuhan Union Hospital ranked first in China. Dong Nianguo, Director of Cardiac Surgery at Wuhan Union Hospital, said Wuhan had been the national heart transplant center[12].

In 2021, the Department of Cardiac and Great Vessels of Wuhan Union Hospital completed 97 heart transplants. As of January 30, 2022, Wuhan Union Hospital had performed more than 900 heart transplants, ranking first in China for many years in a row; it has completed more than 100 pediatric heart transplants[13].

Ⅳ. Three pediatric heart transplants were performed on the same day.

On November 11, 2022, the Wuhan Municipal Government issued a press release stating that Wuhan Union Hospital completed three pediatric heart transplants on the same day, which is the first time in the world. According to the report, three children from different provinces suffered from heart disease and "invariably" chose to come to Wuhan Union Hospital. They were 12, 11, and 4 years old. The hospital completed three heart transplants in just 7 hours. According to the report, three hearts from three other provinces in China landed at Wuhan on November 7; the average cold ischemia time during transport was 330 minutes. This means that three children died almost at the same time, and their hearts happened to be matched with the recipients' hearts. However, the report didn’t mention how the matching was done.[14]

According to Sohu.com, on November 7, 2022, Wuhan Union Hospital completed three pediatric heart transplants on the same day. The three donor hearts came from Beijing, Guangzhou, and Nanning. The transplant team led by Prof. Dong Nianguo, Prof. Xia Jiahong, Prof. Su Wei, and Associate Prof. Wang Guohua led more than 20 medical staff to complete these transplant surgeries. According to the ranking of heart transplant centers worldwide in the past five years, Wuhan Union Hospital ranks fourth. It is the first time in the world that three pediatric heart transplants were done consecutively at the same hospital on the same day[15].

V. Four heart transplants were performed simultaneously.

Four heart transplants were performed simultaneously (2013)[16]. On June 21, 2013, the expert team headed by Prof. Dong Nianguo, Director of Cardiac Surgery, was divided into four groups to simultaneously perform four heart transplant surgeries, each led by a doctoral supervisor[17].

Within 14 hours, from 10:00 to 24:00 on August 6, 2020, four heart transplants were performed by a medical team of more than 200 people led by Dong Nianguo, Director of Cardiac Surgery of Wuhan Union Hospital, and Professor Xia Jiahong[18].

VI. The wait time for an organ is very short. The hospital provided a patient with four donor hearts within 13 days

The wait times for two organ transplants at Wuhan Union Hospital were extremely short. In one case, in May 2022, a patient obtained a heart within four days. In another case, within 13 days in June 2020, four suitable donor hearts were obtained and the heart transplant was completed.[19]

1.A donor heart was obtained for a heart transplant within four days.

On April 8, 2022, Mu Jiangang, a teacher at Lanzhou University, had a sudden myocardial infarction. After being sent to hospital for emergency treatment, his heart was found to have a large area of infarction and needed a heart transplant.[20]

On May 6, 2022, Mu Jiangang was transferred to Wuhan Union Hospital. At the same time, he was placed on the waiting list for a heart transplant. Four days later, Mu Jiangang obtained a suitable donor heart and had a heart transplant.

2.Even stranger is that a patient obtained four suitable donor hearts within 13 days.

On June 12, 2020, a 24-year-old female patient, Sun Lingling, was admitted to Wuhan Union Hospital. Within 13 days, the hospital obtained four suitable hearts for her to choose. [21]

The first heart arrived at the hospital on June 16. But the responsible surgeon thought its coronary arteries were in poor condition and abandoned it.

The second heart was ready on June 19 but was also abandoned because the patient (Sun Lingling) had a fever, making her physical condition unsuitable for a heart transplant.

The third and fourth hearts were both available on June 25. At this time, Sun Lingling's condition improved significantly, and the surgeon finally chose the heart of a 33-year-old male from hundreds of kilometers away. Another backup heart belonged to a local woman, but was abandoned because the surgeon feared it wasn't strong enough.

The patient recovered well after a 7-hour surgery.

The above two cases were first reported by the Chinese media, including the CCP’s official media. The two patients used their real names and real identities.

3.Investigation Recording

Investigation Recording 1

Investigation Subject: A nurse in Cardiac Surgery Ward, Wuhan Union Hospital

Investigation Date: June 30, 2020 （+86-2785351610）

Summary:

1.Investigator: Hello! I want to ask if Director Dong Nianguo is here? Nurse: Um…

2.(Sun Lingling) She’s got the surgery done, but she’s not in our ward. She’s in the ICU.

3.She has been in the ICU all the way. She was not sent from our ward to the operating room and then back to the ICU.

(Recording 1. Download MP3; Transcript Download: pdf1)

Investigation Recording 2

Investigation Subject: Director Dong Nianguo of the Heart Transplant Center of Wuhan Union Hospital

Investigation Date: February 9, 2016 (+86-13971181551)

Summary:

1.Now should be a good opportunity because we’ve basically finished the transplants for all our recipients.

2.This year we’ve done about a dozen (heart transplants)…. Tomorrow, we have one more transplant to do.

3.Last year we did more than one hundred (heart transplants).

(Recording 2. Download MP3; Transcript Download: pdf2)

VII. Investigative leads from Minghui.org: Wuhan Union Hospital still harvesting organs from living “death-row inmates”

According to Minghui.org, an elderly man from Mainland China complained that his relative spent around 400,000 to 500,000 yuan to get a kidney transplant at Wuhan Union Hospital in September 2016. The hospital didn’t disclose the specific information of the donor, but only mentioned the “death-row-inmate” was about 20 to 30 years old, emphasizing that the donor was in good health and had a very good kidney source. The patient was discharged from the hospital but didn’t recover well. [22]

VIII. List of Responsible People

HZKJ-XH001 Dong Nianguo, male, DOB: September 1963, Place of birth: Ezhou, Hubei[23]

Personal Profile: Director of Cardiovascular Surgery and Director of Organ Transplant Center, Wuhan Union Hospital; Chief Surgeon; Vice Chairman, Organ Transplant sub-association and Cardiac Lung Transplant sub-association, Chinese Medical Association (CMA); Vice Chairman, Provincial Society of Organ Transplant, Hubei Medical Association; Studied in the US and Switzerland.

Performed the first heart-liver combined transplant and the heart transplants for the youngest (3 month old) and the oldest (76 years old) patients in China. Once performed four heart transplants on the same day[24]. As of January 30, 2022, the Organ Transplant Center he led had performed more than 900 heart transplant surgeries, ranking first in the country for many years. He has performed more than 100 pediatric heart transplants. [25]

HZKJ-XH002 Zeng Fuqing, male

Personal Profile: Professor of Urologic surgery, Chief Surgeon, doctoral instructor, Director of Urologic Surgery Institute.

Engaged in the clinical and research of Urologic surgery for almost 40 years; Performed kidney transplants; [26]

HZKJ-XH003 Li Heng, male

Personal Profile: Chief Surgeon, Associate Professor, master instructor, Associate Director of Organ Transplant Center; Member of the Chinese Society of Organ Transplantation; Member of the Hubei Provincial Society of Organ Transplantation.

Graduated from Tongji Medical College in 1990; PhD of Medicine, 1996; worked in his alma mater since graduation.

Main field: kidney transplant. [27]

HZKJ-XH004 Wang Zhendi, male

Personal Profile: Attending Surgeon of Urologic Surgery, Lecturer

Engaged in Urologic Surgery, the clinical work of kidney transplant and diagnosis and treatment of complications after renal transplantation. [28]

HZKJ-XH005 Wang Jing, male

Personal Profile: Associate Professor of Kidney Transplant Center, Associate Chief Surgeon

Graduated from Tongji Medical University in 1992; have engaged in Urologic Surgery and clinical work of kidney transplant since graduation. [29]

HZKJ-XH006 Zhang Shilong, male

Personal Profile: Attending Surgeon of Kidney Transplant Center

Engaged in kidney transplant and clinical work of Urologic Surgery for years. [30]

HZKJ-XH007 Xia Wei, male

Personal Profile: Surgical Resident of Kidney Transplant Center

Engaged in kidney transplant, clinical work of Urologic Surgery and treatment of complications after renal transplantation for years. [31]

HZKJ-XH008 Wu Yu, male

Personal Profile: Surgical Resident of Kidney Transplant Center

Engaged in kidney transplant, clinical work of Urologic Surgery and treatment of complications after renal transplantation for years. [32]

HZKJ-XH009 Bai Yang, male

Personal Profile: Surgical Resident, Kidney Transplant Center

Engaged in kidney transplant, clinical work of Urologic Surgery and treatment of complications after renal transplantation for years. [33]

HZKJ-XH010 Zhang Runqing, male

Personal Profile: Professor of Urologic Surgery, Chief Surgeon

Research focused on kidney transplant on the basis of general urology. [34]

HZKJ-XH011 Yang Jun, male

Personal Profile: Associate Professor of Urologic Surgery, Associate Chief Surgeon

Bachelor of Medicine, Tongji Medical University, 1995; PhD of Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2001; helped to perform related surgeries in over 30 hospitals in and around Hubei province, and the prognosis was good; postdoctoral research of obstructive nephropathy and study of organ transplant at Department of Medicine-Nephrology, Baylor College of Medicine, Huston, Texas from April 2011. [35]

HZKJ-XH012 Zheng Qichang, male

Personal Profile: Chief Surgeon, Professor, Director of Hepatobiliary Surgery Center

Committed to the basic and clinical research of biomaterials in organ transplant in recent years, specialized in liver transplant. [36]

HZKJ-XH013 Xiong Jun, male

Personal Profile: Associate Chief Surgeon of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Associate Professor

Graduated from Department of Medicine, Tongji Medical University, 1994; engaged in clinical work of Hepatobiliary Surgery; PhD, 2005; postdoctoral research for 2 years at Organ Transplant Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou.

Engaged in organ extraction for liver transplant and perioperative management of recipients after operation; major participant to complete the first national combined heart-liver transplant, which was also the third case in Asia. [37]

HZKJ-XH014 Wan Chidan

Personal Profile: Director of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Deputy Director of Organ Transplant Center. Member of the Living Organ Transplant Professional Committee of the Organ Transplant Surgeon Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association. Member of the Organ Transplant Branch of Hubei Medical Association. Engaged in hepatobiliary surgery clinical and research work for nearly 30 years. He had been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the Organ Transplant Center of the Medical University of South Carolina. He routinely carries out various liver transplants, including DCD whole liver transplants, pediatric liver transplants, relative living donor liver transplants, split liver transplants, multi-organ combined transplants, etc[38].

HZKJ-XH015 Gu Jinyang

Personal Profile: Director of Hepatobiliary Surgery/Liver Transplant Center, Deputy Director of Organ Transplant Center.

Engaged in clinical work of liver transplantation for a long time. He has successively worked at or presided over many famous hepatobiliary surgery/liver transplant centers in China (Drum Tower Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University School of Medicine, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, and Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine). In August 2022, he was introduced to Wuhan Union Hospital as a high-level talent[39].

HZKJ-XH016 Wang Chunyou, male

Personal Profile: Chief Surgeon, Professor, Director of Pancreatic Surgery, Director of General Surgery

Engaged in clinical work and research of General Surgery over 20 years.

Studied in UMC, USA, 1992 ~ 1995.

Engaged in Pancreatic Program in recent 10 years; established the Pancreatic Surgery Research and Treatment Center and Pancreatic Surgery ICU in 1997; Conducted research on pancreas transplant and islet stem cell transplant. [40]

HZKJ-XH017 Zhang Kailun, male

Personal Profile: Chief Surgeon and Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery

Visiting Doctor and Senior Visiting Scholar at German Heart Center Munich as well as Heart and Diabetes Center, Bad Oeynhausen, University Hospitals of the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany; outstanding in heart transplant. [41]

HZKJ-XH018 Liu Jinping, male

Personal Profile: Associate Professor and Associate Chief Surgeon of Cardiovascular Surgery, Director of Organ Transplant Program, Wuhan Union Hospital; Member of Wuhan Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Organ Transplantation, Secretary of Hubei Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery, winner of the "Erbaken Award" of the Chinese Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Graduated from Tongji Medical University, 1997; studied in Australia, 2004; studied in University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2008~2010; performs heart transplants; major participant of heart transplants. [42]

HZKJ-XH019 Shi Jiawei, female

Personal Profile: Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Associate Chief Surgeon

Graduated from Tongji Medical University in 1999; PhD of Medicine, 2006;

Studied in Massachusetts General Hospital, 2008; studied in Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 2014; conducted in-depth research in heart and lung transplantation; engaged in clinical work of cardiac surgery over 10 years. [43]

HZKJ-XH020 Xiao Shiliang, male

Personal Profile: Professor, Chief Surgeon, Associate Director of Cardiovascular Surgery

Committed to clinical work and basic research of cardiac surgery; outstanding in heart transplant. [44]

HZKJ-XH021 Sun Zongquan, male

Personal Profile: Chief Surgeon of Cardiovascular Surgery, Professor

Former member of standing committee, Cardiothoracic Surgery sub-association, Chinese Medical Association (CMA); Director of Cardiovascular Institute, Wuhan Union Hospital; Director of Cardiovascular Surgery, Wuhan Union Hospital

Outstanding in heart transplant; completed the first combined heart-lung transplant at Wuhan Union Hospital. [45]

HZKJ-XH022 Li Jinsong, male

Personal Profile: Associate Professor of Thoracic Surgery, Associate Chief Surgeon

Graduated from Tongji Medical University, 1991; has worked at Wuhan Union Hospital since graduation; PhD, 1998; postdoctoral study in University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 2004~2005;

Developed new technology of lung transplant; committed to lung transplant and basic and applied research on lung volume reduction. [46]

HZKJ-XH023 Jiang Ke, male

Personal Profile: Associate Professor of Thoracic Surgery, Associate Chief Surgeon

Good at lung transplant. [47]

HZKJ-XH024 Wang Jianjun, male

Personal Profile: Director of Thoracic Surgery, Professor, Chief Surgeon

Graduated from Department of Medicine, Hebei Medical University; master, Peking Union Medical College, since 1990; Vice President, Director of Thoracic Surgery, Director of Clinical Medicine Institute, Professor, Chief Surgeon, Hebei General Hospital, 2000; transferred to Thoracic Surgery Program at Wuhan Union Hospital in 2001;

Postdoctoral study from 1994 to 1999 in University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University; The Center for MR Education, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine;

Performs routine lung transplants and combined heart-lung transplants. [48]

HZKJ-XH025 Zhang Mingchang, male

Personal Profile: Director of ophthalmology, Chief Surgeon, Professor

The first to perform full-thickness lamellar keratoplasty to treat deep corneal opacity in the province and avoid the rejection and complications associated from corneal transplant. [49]

Reference

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Release time: January 30, 2022 Source: Changjiang Daily

https://archive.vn/lSABF

[2] Introduction to Liver Transplant Center, Wuhan Union Hospital

https://web.archive.org/web/20221220040320/https://www.whuh.com/info/16…

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http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/cn/images/nationalcriminalreports/838.png

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