Despite the rapid growth in organ donation in China, demand is still outstripping supply, reports Economic Information Daily.
Ranking second in the world, China carries out more than ten thousand organ transplantations each year, but that's still only a fraction of those needed, and many people die while on lengthy waiting lists.
The rate of organ donations per million people each year stands at just 2.98, which puts China 44th globally. It's estimated only one in thirty patients gains access to donated organs.
Huang Jiefu, president of the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation, says transplantation in China has seen rapid growth in recent years despite the abolition of the use of organs from death-row prisoners in 2015. As of the end of 2016, the number of people donating organs in China reached 9996, accounting for 27631 organs in total.
Wang Haibo, director of the China Organ Transplant Response System said nearly 60% of patients in need of a kidney transplant have to wait up to two years. Transplant surgery involving scarce organs such as heart and lungs are seldom carried out in Chinese hospitals.
One of the obstacles to organ donation is public uncertainty over their allocation. Prior to 2011, that decision rested with doctors, with many in China preferring greater transparency.
In response to public concern, China's Organ Transplant Response System was launched in April that year, covering 169 eligible hospitals. The system objectively allocates donated organs to patients based on their medical need, and is devoid of human influence.
As organ allocation in China became more transparent and the system improved, the number of organ donations has soared, although supporting services remain underdeveloped.
Liu Yuan, the coordinator of organ donation at Beijing's YouAn Hospital, says many institutions lack for suitably qualified personal to provide organ donation services, with general surgery doctors taking on some of the work.
Huang Jiefu adds the number of qualified transplant doctors runs into the hundreds, with only 173 hospitals able to provide the service.
Other issue, such as the high cost of transplants is also a major problem, holding back the development of organ transplantation.
To boost the number of organ donation doctors, seven medical universities in major cities including Beijing , Shanghai, Guangzhou as well as Wuhan, are launching courses in December this year.
