So you thought it that Larry Niven’s “organlegging” scenario was science fiction, huh? Well, according to this article, China executes a large number of criminals yearly, whose organs are then available for transplant. People in desperate need of a transplant and who can’t get one in their own country (and have money), can travel to China and get one. A condemned person must sign a consent to organ donation, but many people are in doubt that the inmates are voluntarily signing. Some also doubt that all the organs come exclusively from the executed.
In author Niven’s future society, the public keeps voting the death penalty on lesser and lesser crimes in order to keep the pool of available organs large. I wonder if this will happen? He has been pretty accurate in his organ transplant predictions so far.