This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (withdrawalpolicy).

This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor.

Concerns have been raised that the organs for the transplants described within this article may have been procured unethically [1].

The journal is strongly against the use of human organs or tissues from any individual where appropriate consent has not been obtained. The source of the organs or tissues used in clinical research must be transparent and traceable. It is a requirement that authors ensure that their work complies with international ethical standards, including the WHO Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation [2].

The journal contacted the authors to clarify concerns that pertinent details regarding the source of the organs used, consent of participating individuals, and ethical approval were lacking and/or unclear in the current article. The authors did not respond.

Given that the Editor has outstanding concerns regarding insufficient documentation of ethical organ provenance and appropriate consents and ethical approval of the study, the Editor has made the decision to retract the article, in accordance with journal policies.

Apologies are offered to the readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

The authors did not respond when informed of the decision to retract.

[1] Rogers W, Robertson MP, Ballantyne A, et al., Compliance with ethical standards in the reporting of donor sources and ethics review in peer-reviewed publications involving organ transplantation in China: a scoping review, BMJ Open 2019;9:e024473. bmjopen-2018-024473

[2] World Health Organization. WHO guiding principles on human cell, tissue and organ transplantation. Transplantation 2010; 90:229-33. TP.0b013e3181ec29f0