FIVE people are alive today thanks to Yang Huaiyuan. Yang’s organs were donated after he was announced brain dead April 3.

    His heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were successfully transplanted to five patients from Sichuan, Fujian and Hubei, and all of the recipients are recovering well. His corneas have also been preserved to be transplanted in the near future.

    “He always liked helping others, and he would have approved of the donations,” said Yang’s mother Zhang Zun’e, who decided to donate Yang’s body parts after the 39-year-old Sichuan man died in a car crash.

    Yang’s body will help at least seven people, according to the president of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Deng Shaoping.

    In China, many believe in the tradition of keeping the entire body of the dead intact in order to help their reincarnation or enable them to live better lives in the afterlife.

    But as the nation progresses, organ donation has become a more acceptable alternative.

    In 2014, 1,700 donors gave more than 5,000 organs, exceeding the total number of donations for the previous five years.

    Despite the increase in donors, there is still a vast gap between supply and demand.

    And the gap may continue to expand.

    On Jan. 1, China banned the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners, which was a major source of transplants.

    “The donors are too few. For example, a patient typically has to wait for one and a half to three years for a lung. Many die while waiting,” said Chen Jingyu, a member of the Chinese Society of Organ Transplantation.

    Liu Deruo, a noted thoracic surgeon with the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, said he last performed a lung transplant four years ago simply because no lungs are available for the desperate patients.

    However, Huang Jiefu, head of a national human organ donation and transplant committee, said the ban, aimed at preserving justice and human rights, would not aggravate the shortage of organs for transplant in the long run.

    “The more respect we pay to prisoners on death row, the more citizens will donate their organs,” said Huang.

    In 2014, voluntary donation from Chinese citizens became the major source of transplant organs, accounting for 80 percent of all donated organs, Huang added.

    Huang said use of organs from executed prisoners was a “reluctant option” that violated medical virtues and had long been criticized by the international community.

    The option was gradually phased out since China set up a system of voluntary donation in 2010, resulting in a final ban this year.

    Motivating donors

    Government statistics show that about 300,000 patients each year need organ transplants in China, while just more than 10,000 received such operations.

    While a lack of organs is the primary reason, Huang says the high cost paid by recipients of donated organs for the transplant surgery is another contributor to the disparity.

    From 2010 to the end of January, 3,326 people donated their organs after death, an average of less than 900 donors per year. The rate is quite low rate considering the 6 million deaths in China each year. That is also low compared to other countries such as America, where over 14,000 people donated their organs in 2013 alone.

    Instead of traditions such as keeping the deceased’s body intact, poor administration is often the first target of blame for the low donation rate, said Huang.

    A poll conducted by Huang’s committee showed more than 40 percent of those surveyed were not sure whether to donate their organs or not. He found that part of the reason people are unsure is because they don’t know who or how the organs will be used.

    “It is vital to establish an open and transparent organ distribution system, under which every organ can be traced back to the exact donor,” he said.

    China has developed an automatic organ distribution and sharing system that sequences the patients according to the severity of a person’s illness and other internationally recognized factors.

    Some patients and their family members said they also worry about whether the hospital will take into consideration organ donor status when deciding whether or not to go all out to save a patient.

    Huang said that would be impossible, as every patient must be confirmed as dead before any of their body parts are taken away. Currently, the dead can be classified as “heart dead,” “brain dead” or “heart and brain dead.”

    But some involved in the transplant circle suggest introducing a third-party medical assessor to ensure the patient’s death and avoid possible conflict between family members and medical staff.

    What do the donors get?

    Currently, there are no subsidies to help pay for the burial or cremation of organ donors in China.

    Every single family interviewed by Xinhua reporters said the fact that organ donors don’t have their funeral expenses covered makes them feel pathetic.

    Some families said they hoped the government would help cover more medical expenses for the donors. Last year, the Central Government allocated 840,000 yuan (US$137,000) to help pay treatment fees for 1,200 donors. “That’s too little,” said Gao Xinpu with the China Organ Donation Administrative Center.

    Huang and Gao said subsidies for donors’ families would be reasonable, and that subsidies are never equal to the trading of organs, which is illegal in China.

    Some also proposed building a public cemetery or monument to memorialize the donors.

    The government should also provide more professional assistance during the donation process.

    Generally, when a doctor learns that a patient is willing to donate his or her organs, the doctor immediately informs a special coordinator from the Red Cross Society of China, who is responsible for communicating with the donor’s family and dealing with legal issues concerning the donation.

    Meanwhile, one or more medical coordinators from the Organ Procurement Organization of the Chinese Hospital Association communicates with doctors and assess the condition of the patient’s organs.

    China only has 169 registered special coordinators and 378 medical coordinators. “The number is far from enough, especially when China’s organ donors are increasing rapidly,” said Gao.

    With the ban on organs from executed prisoners, the coordinators’ task will become more daunting as more families will need their assistance, Gao said.

    Gao also explained that the Chinese government is training another 660 coordinators who will be in the workforce soon. (Xinhua)

    FIVE people are alive today thanks to Yang Huaiyuan. Yang’s organs were donated after he was announced brain dead April 3.

    His heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were successfully transplanted to five patients from Sichuan, Fujian and Hubei, and all of the recipients are recovering well. His corneas have also been preserved to be transplanted in the near future.

    “He always liked helping others, and he would have approved of the donations,” said Yang’s mother Zhang Zun’e, who decided to donate Yang’s body parts after the 39-year-old Sichuan man died in a car crash.

    Yang’s body will help at least seven people, according to the president of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Deng Shaoping.

    In China, many believe in the tradition of keeping the entire body of the dead intact in order to help their reincarnation or enable them to live better lives in the afterlife.

    But as the nation progresses, organ donation has become a more acceptable alternative.

    In 2014, 1,700 donors gave more than 5,000 organs, exceeding the total number of donations for the previous five years.

    Despite the increase in donors, there is still a vast gap between supply and demand.

    And the gap may continue to expand.

    On Jan. 1, China banned the harvesting of organs from executed prisoners, which was a major source of transplants.

    “The donors are too few. For example, a patient typically has to wait for one and a half to three years for a lung. Many die while waiting,” said Chen Jingyu, a member of the Chinese Society of Organ Transplantation.

    Liu Deruo, a noted thoracic surgeon with the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, said he last performed a lung transplant four years ago simply because no lungs are available for the desperate patients.

    However, Huang Jiefu, head of a national human organ donation and transplant committee, said the ban, aimed at preserving justice and human rights, would not aggravate the shortage of organs for transplant in the long run.

    “The more respect we pay to prisoners on death row, the more citizens will donate their organs,” said Huang.

    In 2014, voluntary donation from Chinese citizens became the major source of transplant organs, accounting for 80 percent of all donated organs, Huang added.

    Huang said use of organs from executed prisoners was a “reluctant option” that violated medical virtues and had long been criticized by the international community.

    The option was gradually phased out since China set up a system of voluntary donation in 2010, resulting in a final ban this year.

    Motivating donors

    Government statistics show that about 300,000 patients each year need organ transplants in China, while just more than 10,000 received such operations.

    While a lack of organs is the primary reason, Huang says the high cost paid by recipients of donated organs for the transplant surgery is another contributor to the disparity.

    From 2010 to the end of January, 3,326 people donated their organs after death, an average of less than 900 donors per year. The rate is quite low rate considering the 6 million deaths in China each year. That is also low compared to other countries such as America, where over 14,000 people donated their organs in 2013 alone.

    Instead of traditions such as keeping the deceased’s body intact, poor administration is often the first target of blame for the low donation rate, said Huang.

    A poll conducted by Huang’s committee showed more than 40 percent of those surveyed were not sure whether to donate their organs or not. He found that part of the reason people are unsure is because they don’t know who or how the organs will be used.

    “It is vital to establish an open and transparent organ distribution system, under which every organ can be traced back to the exact donor,” he said.

    China has developed an automatic organ distribution and sharing system that sequences the patients according to the severity of a person’s illness and other internationally recognized factors.

    Some patients and their family members said they also worry about whether the hospital will take into consideration organ donor status when deciding whether or not to go all out to save a patient.

    Huang said that would be impossible, as every patient must be confirmed as dead before any of their body parts are taken away. Currently, the dead can be classified as “heart dead,” “brain dead” or “heart and brain dead.”

    But some involved in the transplant circle suggest introducing a third-party medical assessor to ensure the patient’s death and avoid possible conflict between family members and medical staff.

    What do the donors get?

    Currently, there are no subsidies to help pay for the burial or cremation of organ donors in China.

    Every single family interviewed by Xinhua reporters said the fact that organ donors don’t have their funeral expenses covered makes them feel pathetic.

    Some families said they hoped the government would help cover more medical expenses for the donors. Last year, the Central Government allocated 840,000 yuan (US$137,000) to help pay treatment fees for 1,200 donors. “That’s too little,” said Gao Xinpu with the China Organ Donation Administrative Center.

    Huang and Gao said subsidies for donors’ families would be reasonable, and that subsidies are never equal to the trading of organs, which is illegal in China.

    Some also proposed building a public cemetery or monument to memorialize the donors.

    The government should also provide more professional assistance during the donation process.

    Generally, when a doctor learns that a patient is willing to donate his or her organs, the doctor immediately informs a special coordinator from the Red Cross Society of China, who is responsible for communicating with the donor’s family and dealing with legal issues concerning the donation.

    Meanwhile, one or more medical coordinators from the Organ Procurement Organization of the Chinese Hospital Association communicates with doctors and assess the condition of the patient’s organs.

    China only has 169 registered special coordinators and 378 medical coordinators. “The number is far from enough, especially when China’s organ donors are increasing rapidly,” said Gao.

    With the ban on organs from executed prisoners, the coordinators’ task will become more daunting as more families will need their assistance, Gao said.

    Gao also explained that the Chinese government is training another 660 coordinators who will be in the workforce soon. (Xinhua)