Taiwan revokes doctor's license over illegal organ transplant referrals

Taipei, June 2 (CNA) The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has revoked the medical license of a prominent transplant specialist for illegally arranging organ transplant procedures for Taiwanese patients in China, Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said Tuesday.

The case, which involves Chen Yao-li (陳堯俐), a former deputy superintendent at Chung Shan Medical University Hospital in Taichung, marks the first time in Taiwan that a physician has had his license revoked for illegally brokering organ transplants, Shih said.

Speaking to reporters, Shih said Chen was found by the Changhua District Court to have repeatedly arranged for Taiwanese patients to undergo organ transplant procedures overseas, conduct that seriously violated medical ethics and the Human Organ Transplant Act.

Under the law, medical professionals are prohibited from acting as intermediaries in organ transplant cases, and serious violations can result in the revocation of their medical licenses.

According to the MOHW, its medical review committee recently completed its review of the case, and the ministry issued the disciplinary action last week.

Court records showed that Chen began referring patients to hospitals in China for liver and kidney transplants in 2008 and received NT$14.66 million (US$488,000) in illegal gains from the arrangements.

He was convicted on nine counts of illegally brokering organ transplants in violation of the Human Organ Transplant Act and sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for five years. The court also ordered him to pay NT$5 million to the state treasury and forfeit his illicit profits.

Shih noted that Taiwan has previously revoked physicians' licenses in cases involving insurance fraud and illegal drug use. However, Chen's case is the first in which a doctor has lost his license for arranging overseas organ transplant procedures.