Voluntary organ donation is on the rise in China, despite legal and cultural barriers
Huang Jiefu, chairman of the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, has never been afraid to think big.
“I have a dream. I hope China’s organ donors can exceed 10 million in the near future, and reach 100 million by the time I retire,” he grandiloquently told the attendees at a ceremony introducing Love & Hope, an online organ donor-registration platform, to a Beijing public hospital in March.
According to the National Health Commission, 6,302 people in China donated their organs posthumously last year, and around 20,000 transplant surgeries were performed. China has become the top country in Asia, and the second in the world, in the number of both donors and surgeries performed.
Organized Giving is a story from our issue, “The Good Life.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine. Alternatively, you can purchase the digital version from the App Store.
Sun Jiahui is a freelance writer and former editor at The World of Chinese. She writes about Chinese language, society and culture, and is especially passionate about sharing stories of China's ancient past with a wider audience. She has been writing for TWOC for over six years, and pens the Choice Chengyu column.
