Chinese doctors perform a surgery in Shanghai in June 2006. China will establish a new government body to oversee the registration and allocation of donated organs for transplants, amid widespread controversy in the field. [AFP]

Beijing - China will establish a new government body to oversee the registration and allocation of donated organs for transplants, amid widespread controversy in the field.

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New regulations on human organ transplants will be issued "soon", mandating the establishment of the new body, Xinhua news agency reported Monday, citing comments by Wang Jianrong, a vice director at the ministry of health.

On July 1, China issued regulations on the buying and selling of human organs for transplant following widespread accusations over a black market trade in organs taken from dead patients without their prior consent.

"Currently, China has no clear laws on human organ transplants," Xinhua said.

"This has resulted in transplants being carried out by unqualified doctors with substandard medical equipment, leading to the death of some patients.

"It is also widely claimed that hospitals are preoccupied with the quantity of organ transplants rather than the quality."

The article further lambasted the practice of giving foreign patients priority in transplant operations due to the higher fees hospitals can charge them.

But it was unclear if the new regulations would address this issue.

China performed 34,726 organ transplants from 2000 to 2004, the report said citing the health ministry. By the end of 2004, 599 medical institutions were performing liver, kidney, heart and lung transplants.

"About 1.5 million people in China need transplants each year, but only around 10,000 operations can be carried out due to organ shortages," it said.

Families are traditionally opposed to donating organs of deceased relatives due to long-standing beliefs on keeping the body intact, it said.