Leon Lee’s Human Harvest Impactfully and Impressively Exposes China’s State-Sponsored Organ Trafficking Market
By Carson Billingsley
Not many situations are more chilling and unthinkable than the surgical removal of the heart and liver from a living person. These human rights violations motivated Leon Lee to direct the remarkable documentary, Human Harvest: China’s Illegal Organ Trade. To produce both an authentic story and significance to this crisis, Lee spent over 8 years filming, gaining the trust of and interviewing doctors, labor camp survivors, law enforcement, and organ recipients (Carney). This documentary became critically acclaimed after its release in 2014 for its style and message and further went on to influence the fight against human organ trafficking around the world (Xiuming). In the making of Human Harvest, Leon Lee shares powerful testimonials and the core motivations of a black market which bring unprecedented weight and importance to the issue of human organ trafficking, both in China and around the world.
Lee first heard of mass Chinese human organ trafficking in 2006 when Canadian human rights lawyers, David Matas and David Kilgour, famously released their first bombshell reports on the topic. The lawyers were called upon by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China to investigate the suspicious organ transplant data coming from China in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In fact, 700 transplants were recorded in China in 1999, while 10,000 transplants were recorded in 2008 (Human Harvest 3:56-4:04). The number of transplant centers increased four-fold during this time period as well (Human Harvest 3:21-3:33), and Matas and Kilgour felt this data was far too peculiar for the international community to ignore.
At the international level, the Chinese government boasted their transplant successes. However, China has always had a grossly inadequate organ donation system, and large transplant numbers imply a very large organ supply. With criminal death sentences on the decline, an incredibly difficult organ donor-recipient match rate, and a very short viability for extracted organs, there was no plausible way that these organs were being obtained legally or altruistically (Matas, Kilgour). As a result, the two lawyers found the harrowing inner workings of a state-sponsored organ black market that was harvesting organs from Chinese prisoners of conscience, citizens imprisoned for their religious or political views. Especially targeted were members of the popular Falun Gong, a peaceful and apolitical group, that was deemed illegal in 1999 by the Chinese Communist Party (Human Harvest 14:38-15:26). The crimes committed against these practitioners are heinous violations of human rights, inspiring Lee to tell their story on screen.
Leon Lee attributed his inability to conceptualize the horrors of these allegations as the reason for his decision to make Human Harvest. In fact, in 2014, he told the Vancouver Sun that “when he first heard about [the 2006 Matas-Kilgour report,] he couldn’t sleep” (Crawford). Thus, Lee began his 8 year journey to collect truthful perspectives on how this nightmare became a large-scale, money-making machine for the Chinese government and healthcare industry. Of course, Lee felt that emphasizing the crimes against the Falun Gong would be most likely to impact lawmakers and leaders around the world; therefore, Lee never shied away from capturing interviews that vividly described organ extraction. Lee still went even further, and Human Harvest also included every perspective to better explain how black markets operate as a web of different, intertwined players. Hiding no injustice or key aspect of the market, the unbelievable witness accounts and perspectives shared in the documentary were not only important parts of the story, but they also illustrate why black markets are able to operate and thrive, despite being utterly criminal.
Human Harvest recognized that without the demand for medical transplants, prisoners of conscience would not be egregiously murdered for their organs. The documentary starts off interviewing past transplant recipients and their family members. Some of these recipients were from mainland China, while others were from the surrounding regions. Believing that their past procedure was legal, all of them were actually connected to illegally obtained organs from Chinese concentration camps, indirectly killing another human being to save their own lives (Human Harvest 42:15-42:43). Lee commented that these were the most “heartbreaking” interviews to conduct because many “transplant recipients, after they learned about where the organ may have come from, … said they would have rather died” (Crawford). Although these patients were operating under the deception of their doctors and state-run hospitals, they still fuel the black market by their desire to view human organs as a commodity to save their own lives. The black market for organ trafficking around the world is motivated by the instinct to survive, and this instinct is so powerful that a potential recipient will sometimes go to any length to stay alive. The documentary portrays this idea by recognizing how transplant candidates will either knowingly or unknowingly participate in a criminal market, pay an absurdly high price, or go across the world to get their procedure.
A recurring interview with a previous hospital worker about daily organ extractions underlies the power of money and greed in fueling a black market. This worker, Annie, is a previous statistician at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital in Liaoning and ex-wife of a surgeon. Absorbing information from her coworkers and her knowledge of her husband’s work, she exposed the fact that daily surgeries in the hospital on living prisoners of conscience removed livers, corneas, and skin for off-site transplants (Human Harvest 12:44-13:56). Her detailed testimonial describes how these prisoners held no identification and were then thrown in the incinerator, usually still breathing, to destroy any evidence of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, Annie found most alarming that the staff and surgeons, including her husband, never spoke out about these atrocities because they were making huge profits and faced no authoritative opposition to their work (Human Harvest 12:44-13:56). This happened for years, and after this exposé, the Chinese government swiftly hid any evidence of injustice.
The Chinese government indeed began to realize the massive financial advantages of a state-sponsored organ transplant system. In fact, profits from the transplant wards of hospitals heavily supported the horribly underfunded Chinese healthcare system in the early 2000s (Human Harvest 10:35-10:45). Around this same time, organ prices were skyrocketing, and data from Chinese hospitals in 2006 discovered kidneys cost upwards of $60,000 USD and hearts cost upwards of $150,000 USD (Human Harvest 9:56-10:20). This exemplifies a critical motivator of black market activity: greed. Black markets typically hold powerful influence over the socially or economically oppressed. Facing no repercussions, it is understandable why the doctors kept quiet about these atrocious crimes, and the power of money is one of the reasons the organ market in China is so difficult to stop.
A devastating recorded phone call and prison guard interviews from the documentary reveal the importance of the Chinese Commist Party’s propaganda machine to perpetuating criminal organ harvesting. The phone call was from a police officer in Jinzhou City in 2009 who acted as a guard for the organ harvesting of a living, 30-year-old Falun Gong practitioner. The officer testified that after a few days of torture and interrogation for her arrest, secretive military doctors came to extract her organs. She was conscious and screaming through most of the procedure because it was performed hastily without anesthetics. Her heart and kidneys were removed (Human Harvest 36:57-39:24). The prison guard didn’t fully understand what was taking place because he was trained to completely loathe the Falun Gong practice and practitioners.
It seems unbelievable that an atrocity such as this, involving so many different actors, could take place, but the government media has carried out demonization of the Falun Gong for years. Similarly, one account from a prison guard exposed that he and his fellow employees had been misled so much about the demonization of the Falun Gong that he actually believed the Falun Gong “ate their children” (Human Harvest 34:44-35:41). Leon Lee recognized the importance of providing outside citizens’ perspectives on the treatment of the Falun Gong because group-think in opposition of these practitioners helped contribute to their mass exploitation. Lee even drew parallels of the demonization of the Falun Gong to the demonization of the Jews in Nazi Germany (Human Harvest 35:15-35:38). In truth, deception, propaganda, and influence are important factors that allow criminal markets to exist, and with the backing of a powerful government, they can thrive no matter how illegal or immoral the goods or services are that are sold in the market.
Lastly, excerpts from the Chinese state run documentary reveal how a corrupt government and strict power structure can stimulate a black market. Some of Kilgour’s and Matas’s most incriminating evidence contained a series of recorded phone calls to Chinese hospitals from pretend transplant patients, who asked about the details and origins of the organs that were advertised. China’s state run television and media was able to easily censor these full recordings from reaching the public, and the government went as far as to produce a documentary that accused the investigators of fiddling with the transcripts (Human Harvest 24:58-27:41). The government’s strict control of media allows for the party to essentially control the perspectives of the public, allowing for these criminal injustices to be conducted without opposition.
The Chinese government also harnessed intimidation to perpetuate the market. Beyond fervently discrediting the full Matas-Kilgour report once it was released, the party also used violent scare tactics to keep the organ harvesting secretive and unchallenged (“Chinese Embassy Denies”). In fact, Annie claims that after her husband eventually quit his job at the Liaoning hospital, there was an assassination attempt on his life and he was forced into exile (Human Harvest 39:37-41:39). Lee mentions that throughout the 8 years of filming, “finding people that wanted to talk and gaining their trust … was very difficult because people fear persecution from the Chinese regime” (Carney). In order to be successful and evade prosecution, black market actors must be tightly regulated, and because of China’s governmental power, it can easily garner success in illegal markets through intimidation and corruption.
With an impressive display of both riveting storytelling as well as educating the audience about black market activity, Lee’s Human Harvest is deserving of its worldwide acclaim. It has been awarded the 2014 Peabody Award, one of the highest honors of broadcast television, and the 2015 best International Investigative Documentary by the Association of International Broadcasters, among dozens of other film honors (“Vancouver Filmmaker Wins Big”). Most importantly, however, this acclimation has translated into great success for the fight against Chinese organ trafficking. The film has been shown in over 20 countries and among different non-governmental organizations and governing bodies, including British parliament (Xiuming). In fact, lawmakers were not only “stunned” by the stories told in the documentary, but many have become driven to take further political action to combat this issue.
One of the greatest achievements in the global fight against global organ harvesting and selling came from the Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism. Originally signed in 2008, the document works to establish international definitions and direct medical and national policy when it comes to illegal organ harvesting. However, further investigative works, like Human Harvest, have only helped to bring more attention and enthusiasm to the Istanbul Declaration. In fact, in 2017, the first working group to revise and publish a new addition of the document was called, and it incorporates many aspects that were found to be critical among the Chinese organ trafficking market (“Update to Declaration of Istanbul”). Moreover, the film also brought new attention and praise to the International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC), a professional coalition group that seeks to combat China’s unlawful transplant system from all fronts. The group was primarily founded by Matas and Kilgour, and it now works internationally to raise public awareness and garner international action to counter and eventually stop China’s human rights abuses (“About Us”). Both the film and the EATC are direct affiliates and supporters of each other, proving how the film brought international attention to the issue in more ways than just entertaining the viewers.
Lee crafts a narrative in the documentary that is not only memorable and impactful, but it also traces the core elements that are responsible for black market operations and success. He traces the power of survival, greed, propaganda, corruption, and societal inequality as important pieces of this market. Moreover, his dedicated approach to sharing firsthand accounts brought to life the atrocities of China’s state-sponsored program. A story like this deserves the international acclaim that it was awarded, and the film helped fuel the worldwide fight against organ trafficking. Lee continually reinforces the power of film as an outlet for education and social change, and Human Harvest is proof how bombshell written works, like the Matas-Kilgour exposé, are often an exemplary candidate for a motion picture adaptation. Ultimately, by examining the motivations and inner workings of this Chinese black market, Lee masterfully brings urgency and significance to the problem of organ trafficking around the world.
Works Cited
“About Us.” The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China, The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse, 2018, endtransplantabuse.org/about-us/.
Carney, John. “China’s $1bn Illegal Organ Trafficking Trade Exposed in Human Harvest Documentary.” Mail Online, Daily Mail Australia, 6 Jan. 2020, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3027088/A-Human-Harvest-Chinas-organ-trafficking-exposed-shocking-documentary-alleges-illegal-trade-worth-staggering-1-billion-year.html.
“Chinese Embassy Denies Organ Harvesting Report.” Friends of Falun Gong, Friends of Falun Gong USA, 6 July 2006, fofg.org/2006/07/06/chinese-embassy-denies-organ-harvesting-report/.
Crawford, Tiffany. “Vancouver Filmmaker Wins Prestigious Peabody Award for Organ Harvesting Documentary.” VancouverSun, VancouverSun, 25 Apr. 2015, www.vancouversun.com/health/vancouver filmmaker wins prestigious peabody award organ harvesting documentary/10998207/story.html.
Human Harvest: Vancouver Filmmaker Wins Big for Exposé on Organ Harvesting, Daily Hive, 19 Dec. 2017, dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-filmmaker-wins-big-for-expose-human-harvest-in-china.
Lee, Leon, director. Human Harvest: China’s Illegal Organ Trade. Prime Video, Journeyman Pictures, 2014, www.amazon.com/Human-Harvest-Leon-Lee/dp/B01MQMKC3A/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8.
Matas, David, and David Kilgour. “Kilgour & Matas Report.” The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China, The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse, 2018, endtransplantabuse.org/kilgour-matas-report/.
“Update to Declaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism.” Kidney News Online, American Society of Nephrology, 2 July 2018, www.kidneynews.org/policy-advocacy/leading-edge/update-to-declaration-of-istanbul-on-organ-trafficking-and-transplant-tourism.
Xiuming, Tang. “Film Human Harvest Shown in the British Parliament.” Falun Dafa, MingHui, 10 Nov. 2015, en.minghui.org/html/articles/2015/11/10/153610.html.
