Mounting demand

While kidney diseases are frequently reported among the population, late-stage renal patients can be treated through dialysis, extending life for a long time, Chen said. As a result, demand for transplants continues to mount.

At Tongji Hospital, more than 1,000 patients await kidney transplants every year, but due to a shortage of donors, only a few hundred such operations are performed.

Chen believes it is important to help the public understand the significance of organ donations.

"Relevant departments should provide better support for the healthy development of organ donation, and people from all walks of life should join in creating an atmosphere for the whole of society to promote these donations," Chen added.

Several conditions must be met before an organ can be donated.

The donor's life must be considered to be beyond saving, the consent of all immediate family members has to be obtained, and a rigorous medical evaluation conducted to confirm that the organs can be used, Chen said.

Yao Baichun, a professor at Hubei University of Medicine, said organ donors are "silent mentors "for medical students.

"They are greatly significant for the development of medicine and social progress," Yao said.

"It is important that medical students are grateful to organ donors and respect the value of life. They should also cherish and love life, as well as the opportunity to study, so that they can commit themselves to extending life."

Huang, from the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, called for more efforts to promote public awareness of voluntary organ donations to meet China's transplant needs, while cracking down on the trade in organs.

Revision of the nation's organ transplant regulations, which were released in 2007, should be speeded up to enable a complete legal discourse on voluntary organ donation, Huang added.

Contact the writers at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn