1st Ld-Writethru: China prisoner organ harvesting ban not to cause shortage: expert

China's ban on the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners will not cause a shortage of organs for transplant, an expert said on Wednesday.

Huang Jiefu, head of a national human organ donation and transplant committee, made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing.

"The ban will address the problem of organ shortage," Huang, also a member of the CPPCC Standing Committee said.

"The more respect we pay to prisoners on death row, the more citizens will donate their organs."

Voluntary donation from Chinese citizens is the major source of transplant organs, accounting for 80 percent of all donated organs in 2014, Huang added.

Nearly 1,000 body parts were donated by about 380 citizens in the first two months of this year, an increase of 50 percent compared to the same period in 2014.

China announced it would ban the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners on Jan. 1, 2015, demanding all hospitals stop using organs from death-row prisoners.

"The ban is part of a wider campaign to promote voluntary organ donation and shows justice and human rights progress," Huang said.

China set up a system of voluntary donation in 2009, the expert said, adding that harvesting organs from executed prisoners was a "reluctant option", which had long been criticized by the international community. Endi