Cultural Attitudes Impede Organ Donations in China
China is phasing out its reliance on executed prisoners for donated organs, but cultural attitudes are impeding the rise of donations among the general population.
Almost all donated organs in China used to come from executed prisoners. A growing proportion now come from ordinary people, and the government is seeking to eliminate prisoner donations.
But former vice health minister Huang Jiefu said Friday there was little hope of changing a requirement that family members give consent before organs are donated, even if a person expressed a desire to donate. Chinese society is strongly hierarchical and the family's concerns usually trump the individual's.
Huang said China has about 300,000 people with severe liver disease, but only about 10,000 will be able to receive transplants. He hopes to raise that to 100,000.
Source: Associated Press
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