Despite a nationwide organ shortage, China says it will stop its controversial practice of harvesting organs from dead prisoners without their consent effective January 1.

"We must distance ourselves from the reliance on harvesting organs from prisoners," says Huang Jiefu, the head of the China's organ donation committee. "We must establish an organ donation system that is in line with Chinese social ethics and China's national conditions and based on voluntary donations from the public."

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Human rights groups have criticized China for harvesting organs from dead prisoners without their consent - something the government long denied before acknowledging the practice a few years ago.

According to the U.S.-based prisoners' rights group Dui Hua, China executes more prisoners every year than the rest of the world combined. It put to death an estimated 2,400 people in 2013, says Dui Hua.

So far 38 organ transplant centers around the country, including those in Beijing, Guangdong and Zhejiang, have already stopped using prisoners' organs, according to the BBC, citing local reports.

But it will be difficult for China to makeup the shortfall of organ donors that will result from the policy. State news agencies have reported that prisoners account for two out of every three organ transplants in China - and that still hasn't been enough to meet patients' needs. Huang says that 300,000 people in China need transplanted organs every year, but only 10,000 operations are performed.

One of the problems causing a shortage in organ donations is the cultural belief held by many Chinese that the body should remain intact after death. Additionally, the country has such a rampant illegal organ trade that many people don't want to donate out of fear of contributing to it.

A 2012 poll conducted in Guangzhou revealed that 79% of respondents believed organ donation was "noble," according to the BBC. However, 81% were concerned the donations "inevitably feed the organ trade."

TagsChina to Stop Taking Dead Prisoners’ Organs Without Consent, harvesting organs, Huang Jiefu, Dui Hua, death row prisoners, organ trade, capital punishment, executions