Caijing reports on China’s new organ donation system:
Under the program, provincial RCSC offices will set up donation offices and dispatch coordinators to local hospitals to seek potential donors, such as patients in intensive care wards. Patients will be consulted with and potential donors registered. After each donation, the donation office and collection agency will follow specific guidelines for distributing organs.
Organ distribution should be fair, open and impartial, said Shi Weixing, a professor of public health at Zhejiang University Medical School. Priority should be based on medical standards, including levels of urgency and necessity, the potential for surgical success, and the life expectancy of transplant recipients. Yet decisions would not be based on financial or political considerations.
Medical researchers argue that the success of China’s fledgling organ donation program will hinge on the use of a neutral, objective third party with strong organizational and management skills, as well as on open and transparent information flow in an improved legal environment.
