[情報] 也算同類相食吧:beauty products from the skin of executed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/science/story/0,12996,1568623,00.html
Special report
The beauty products from the skin of executed Chinese prisoners
· Cosmetics firm targets UK market ·
Lack of regulation puts users at risk
Ian Cobain and Adam Luck
Tuesday September 13, 2005
The Guardian
A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of
executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe, an
investigation by the Guardian has discovered.
Agents for the firm have told would-be customers it is developing collagen for
lip and wrinkle treatments from skin taken from prisoners after they have been
shot. The agents say some of the company's products have been exported to
the UK, and that the use of skin from condemned convicts is "traditional"
and nothing to "make such a big fuss about".
With European regulations to control cosmetic treatments such as collagen
not expected for several years, doctors and politicians say the discovery
highlights the dangers faced by the increasing number of Britons seeking to
improve their looks. Apart from the ethical concerns, there is also the
potential risk of infection.
MPs on the Commons select health committee are to examine the regulatory
system and may launch an investigation and question ministers about the need
for immediate new controls. "I am sure that the committee will want to look at
this," said Kevin Barron, its Labour chairman. "This is something everyone
in society will be very concerned about."
Plastic surgeons are also concerned about the delay in introducing regulations
to control the cosmetic treatments industry. Norman Waterhouse, a former
president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said: "I
am surprised that we are taking the lead from the European commission, because
this is bound to delay action on this important area which is increasingly a
matter for concern. It seems like a bit of a cop out to me."
It is unclear whether any of the "aesthetic fillers" such as collagen
available in the UK or on the internet are supplied by the company, which
cannot be identified for legal reasons. It is also unclear whether collagen
made from prisoners' skin is in the research stage or is in production.
However, the Guardian has learned that the company has exported collagen
products to the UK in the past. An agent told customers it had also exported
to the US and European countries, and that it was trying to develop fillers
using tissue from aborted foetuses.
Traditional
When formally approached by the Guardian, the agent denied the company was
using skin harvested from executed prisoners. However, he had already admitted
it was doing precisely this during a number of conversations with a researcher
posing as a Hong Kong businessman. The Press Complaints Commission's code of
practice permits subterfuge if there is no other means of investigating a
matter of public interest.
The agent told the researcher: "A lot of the research is still carried out
in the traditional manner using skin from the executed prisoner and aborted
foetus." This material, he said, was being bought from "bio tech" companies
based in the northern province of Heilongjiang, and was being developed
elsewhere in China.
He suggested that the use of skin and other tissues harvested from executed
prisoners was not uncommon. "In China it is considered very normal and I was
very shocked that western countries can make such a big fuss about this," he
said. Speaking from his office in northern China, he added: "The government
has put some pressure on all the medical facilities to keep this type of
work in low profile."
The agent said his company exported to the west via Hong Kong."We are still in
the early days of selling these products, and clients from abroad are quite
surprised that China can manufacture the same human collagen for less than
5% of what it costs in the west." Skin from prisoners used to be even less
expensive, he said. "Nowadays there is a certain fee that has to be paid to
the court."
The agent's admission comes after an inquiry into the cosmetic surgery
industry in Britain, commissioned by the Department of Health, pointed to
the need for new regulations controlling collagen treatments. Sir Liam
Donaldson, the chief medical officer, has highlighted the inquiry's concerns
about the use of cadavers for cosmetic treatments. "Cosmetic procedures are
a rapidly growing area of private health care," he said. "We must ensure we
properly protect patients' safety by improving the training and regulation."
The DoH has agreed to the inquiry's recommendations, but is waiting for the
European commission to draw up proposals for laws governing cosmetic products.
It could be several years before this legislation takes force.
Meanwhile, cosmetic treatments, including those with with aesthetic fillers,
are growing rapidly in popularity, with around 150,000 injections or
implants administered each year in the UK. Lip enhancement treatments are
one of the most popular, costing an average of ?170.
Some fillers are made from cattle or pig tissue, and others from humans. The
DoH believes that there may be a risk of transmission of blood-borne viruses
and even vCJD from collagen containing human tissue. Although there is as
yet no evidence that this has happened, the inquiry found that some collagen
injections had triggered inflammatory reactions causing permanent
discomfort, scarring and disfigurement. In their report, the inquiry team said
that if there was a risk, "action should be taken to protect patient safety
through regulation".
While new regulations are to be drawn up, the department is currently
powerless to regulate most human-tissue fillers intended for injection or
implant, as they occupy a legal grey area. Most products are not governed by
regulations controlling medical products, as they are not classified as
medicines. They also escape cosmetics regulations, which only apply to
substances used on the surface of the skin and not those injected beneath
it. The Healthcare Commission is planning new regulations for cosmetic surgery
clinics next year, but these will not control the substances used by plastic
surgeons.
Hand transplants
A number of plastic surgeons have told the Guardian that they have been
hearing rumours about the use of tissue harvested from executed prisoners
for several years.
Peter Butler, a consultant plastic surgeon and government adviser, said
there had been rumours that Chinese surgeons had performed hand transplants
using hands from executed prisoners. One transplant centre was believed to
be adjacent to an execution ground. "I can see the utility of it, as they have
access and no ethical objection," he said. "The main concern would be
infective risk."
Andrew Lee of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who has visited
China to examine transplant techniques, said he had heard similar rumours.
Manufacturers of aesthetic fillers said they had seen Chinese collagen
products on sale at trade fairs, but had not seen any labelled Chinese-made in
the UK. Dan Cohen, whose US-based company, Inamed, produces collagen products,
said: "We have come across Chinese products in the market place. But most
products from China are being sold 'off-label' or are being imported
illegally."
In China, authorities deny that prisoners' body parts are harvested without
their consent. However, there is some evidence to suggest it may be
happening.
In June 2001, Wang Guoqi, a Chinese former military physician, told US
congressmen he had worked at execution grounds helping surgeons to harvest the
organs of more than 100 executed prisoners, without prior consent. The
surgeons used converted vans parked near the execution grounds to begin
dissecting the bodies, he told the house international relations committee's
human rights panel.
Skin was said to be highly valued for the treatment of burn victims, and Dr
Wang said that in 1995 he skinned a shot convict's body while the man's
heart was still beating. Dr Wang, who was seeking asylum in the US, also
alleged that corneas and other body tissue were removed for transplant, and
said his hospital, the Tianjin paramilitary police general brigade hospital,
sold body parts for profit.
Human rights activists in China have repeatedly claimed that organs have
been harvested from the corpses of executed prisoners and sold to surgeons
offering transplants to fee-paying foreigners.
Dr Wang's allegations infuriated the Chinese authorities, and in a rare move
officials publicly denounced him as a liar. The government said organs were
transplanted from executed prisoners only if they and their family gave
consent.
Although the exact number of people facing the death penalty in China is an
official secret, Amnesty International believes around 3,400 were executed
last year, with a further 6,000 on death row.
What is it?
Collagen is a major structural protein found in abundance in skin, bones,
tendons and other connective tissue. Matted sheets of collagen give skin its
toughness and by winding into molecular "cables", it adds strength to
tendons.
What is it used for?
Collagen injections are used in cosmetic surgery to plump up lips and
flatten out wrinkles. After botox, collagen injections are the second-most
popular cosmetic operations in Britain. Collagen does not have a permanent
effect and several injections are often needed.
What else is it good for?
Collagen was being put to good use as far back as the stone age. Neolithic
cave dwellers around the Dead Sea are believed to have used it as a
primitive form of glue some 8,000 years ago. More recently, researchers have
developed a form that can be poured or injected into wounds to seal them.
Where does it come from?
A number of sources. Some companies extract it from cow skin and treat it to
minimise the risk of allergic reactions or infection. Others collect it from
human donors or extract cells from the patient before growing the necessary
amount in a laboratory.
Is it safe?
Collagen can cause allergic reactions if it has not been treated correctly,
and there is a theoretical risk of disease being passed on. A small amount
of collagen is often injected into the skin a few weeks before treatment to
test for possible allergic reactions. Earlier this year, Sir Liam Donaldson
warned that collagen injections could spread conditions such as hepatitis
and variant CJD, the human form of mad cow disease.
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