China to create database for human organ transplants

The Ministry of Health has drafted new regulations on organ distribution. As a result, a national database will be created to record and distribute organ donations.

Increasing demand for organs means that transplants are facing a bit of a challenge despite the growing success of such operations over the decades.

Zhu Jiye, chief surgeon of Peking University People's Hospital, said, "The imbalance between demand and supply has become a big problem that cannot be ignored. Take our hospital as an example. In the first half of this year, we performed some ten organ transplants. But many more are still waiting."

That wait can be quite tense.

Gao Jie, deputy surgeon of Peking University People's Hospital, said, "We've got patients who've waited for some eight months in vain only to return home for the wait due to the high costs in the capital. But things can get worse when they return home. Some miss the best window for surgery."

The new database will hopefully improve these conditions.

Wang Haibo, committee member of Organ Transplant Committee, said, "A national database will improve distribution efficiency and facilitate authorities' supervision of operations and ability to trace the sources of organs. A waiting list automatically formed by a computer system will also prevent malpractice"

A network for organ donations and transplants will be formed by 164 qualified hospitals nationwide, and a committee jointly founded by the ministry and the Red Cross Society of China will supervise the network.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that about 1.5 million people in China need organ transplants, although only some 10,000 transplants are performed annually.