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Guangdong pilots organ donations in 10 cities
By Zhang Jiawei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-21 18:03
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Guangdong province started Tuesday trying the donation of human organs in 10 cities including Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with a system for donating, distributing and managing the organs, as well as a donations office to be built, the Guangzhou Daily reported Wednesday.
About 10,000 people undergo organ transplant operations each year in China, second to the US, but people who need organ transplants are 1.5 million each year, said Liao Xinbo, deputy director general of the Guangdong provincial department of health.
In Guangdong, 2,034 people underwent organ transplant operations in 2004, but the number decreased to 1,118 in 2009, according to Liao.
Experts have urged to establish a system for human organ donations in a bid to gradually solve the problems of insufficient organ supplies. In March this year, the Red Cross Society of China and the Ministry of Health announced the launch of an organ donation system in 10 provinces and cities in an initiative to speed up organ transplants.
Strict regulations should govern organ donations and the wishes of the donors are to be respected. It must also be free of financial incentives, said Xu Huozhou, deputy head of the Guangdong Red Cross, cited by the Xinhua News Agency.
Donation applications can be made by people who are mentally able to make sound decisions, Xu said, adding that decisions can also be made by the relatives of a deceased person.
The non-governmental Red Cross Society will serve as an independent third party in supervising and facilitating organ donations, distribution and transplant procedures, Xu said.
