THE Central Government will ban the sale of human bodies and related commercial activities from Aug. 1.

According to the new regulation, "no organization or individual is allowed to accept body donations except medical institutes, medical schools, medical research institutes and forensic research institutes," Xinhua reported.

Transporting bodies to and from the country would have to be approved by the civil affairs departments, customs and the quarantine authorities.

A regulation came into effect July 1 that banned the purchase and sale of organs while also introducing a set of medical standards for transplants.

The changes are an attempt to control a sector that has become a lucrative but chaotic industry in recent years.

A shortage of donated organs fueled what critics said was a rampant black market.

Hospitals were regularly accused of secretly taking organs from road accident victims and other dead patients without telling family members.

Organs of executed prisoners were also harvested and sold to hospitals without consent, according to human rights groups and media reports.

About 2 million Chinese need transplants each year, but only 20,000 receive them due to a shortage of donors, spurring illegal trade in some regions, according to Xinhua.

Editor: Wing