MOSCOW, April 1 – RAPSI. Russian Children Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has asked the Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office to investigate claims that the organs of adopted Russian children who have died in the United States have been removed and given to other children.

It has been widely reported in Russia that the ministry had received information that the organs of two deceased Russian children may have been donated after their deaths.

“In the United States, unlike Russia, the procedure for recovering donor organs is simplified all of the time,” Astakhov was quoted by the press service as saying. “In our country, children cannot serve as donors. This complicated and often speculative issue has to be handled thoroughly and considerately. The Foreign Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office must investigate it.”

According to an informational page on the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Transplantation, “There are no age limitations on who can donate. Whether you can donate depends on your physical condition, not age. Newborns as well as senior citizens have been organ donors.” The page further notes that children under the age of 18 must receive consent from parents or guardians before donating organs.