PAY TO PLAY:The surgeon referred patients needing organ transplants to brokers in China for a subtantial payout over several years, many of whom died soon after

By Hou Chia-yu and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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The Ministry of Health and Welfare has revoked the medical license of a surgeon for illegally brokering organ transplants for Taiwanese in China, in Taiwan’s first medical license revocation for such an offense, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang （石崇良） said yesterday.

Chen Yao-li （陳堯俐） was found guilty of making illegal profits of at least NT$14.66 million （US$466,211） for referring at least nine people to receive liver or kidney transplants in China, the Changhua District Court found last year.

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, deferred for five years, and ordered to pay the state NT$5 million.

According to the ruling, Chen referred multiple patients for organ transplants in China between 2008 and 2016, working with multiple agents.

Chen told people to contact the agents, with livers priced at about NT$1.4 million to NT$1.6 million, and kidneys priced at NT$800,000, the ruling said.

Along with post-surgical care and fees paid to Chinese doctors, patients had to pay between NT$3 million and NT$77 million, it said.

Although the Changhua County Bureau of Health considered Chen to have breached medical ethics, the Changhua County Doctors’ Disciplinary Committee took no action, according to the ruling.

Of the nine people for whom he arranged transplants in China, one died two weeks after the surgery, three died within two years and one died five years after the surgery, the ruling said.

Chung Shan Medical University Hospital yesterday said it had suspended Chen from all administrative posts in late 2024 and annulled its contract with him after receiving the ministry’s notice.

Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation president Hsu Chin-chuan （許金川） said that Taiwan has a broad need for liver transplants, with many terminally ill patients on the waiting list.

Many people traveled to China for liver transplants about 20 to 30 years ago, Hsu said, but added that he was not familiar with the details or how the referrals would work.

Prevention is better than seeking a transplant, Hsu said, adding that many people with liver diseases delay treatment until their liver functions have seriously deteriorated, or until they develop cancer.

Hsu encouraged people to take an abdominal sonography about once per year to detect abnormalities early and avoid the necessity for transplants.

Additional reporting by Tsai Shu-yuan and Yen Hung-chun

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES