China is the top organ-donating country in Asia and the third in the world. (Photo : Getty Images)
Health experts in China revealed that many donated organs go to waste due to the lack of proper storage, maintenance and competent hospitals to perform transplants.
The problem has become increasingly troubling considering that more Good Samaritans are signing up to donate their organs to extend the lives of their fellow countrymen.
China's Record-breaking Organ Donations
More and more Chinese residents are signing up for China's donor plan more than a year after the country stopped relying on executed convicts for organs.
In July 2015, the South China Morning Post reported about a record-breaking number of organ harvests from voluntary donors.
"We expect to do more than 12,000 organ transplants this year. As of Monday we had operated on 1,371 donors to harvest organs," said China's Health Committee Deputy Director Dr. Huang Jiefu.
Now, the Red Cross Society of China revealed to Women of China that over 6,000 people have registered to donate their organs after their demise.
According to the outlet, this is a great help to the medical industry as well as to 18,000 patients who were diagnosed with organ failure and require a new set of lungs, kidneys and others.
RCSC Vice President Hao Linna revealed that these numbers made China the top organ donating country in Asia and third in the world.
"In the past six years, since China launched its organ donation program and encouraged people to register to donate organs in the event of their death, a scientific and fair organ donation system has been established in China and it is improving steadily," Hao explained.
Why the Donations Are Wasted
Unfortunately, both the efforts of the society as well as the good deed of the donors seem to be going to waste after health experts revealed that the organs donated end up in the garbage.
On Thursday, a top lung transplant surgeon in the eastern province of Jiangsu brought the issue of wasted organ donations to the attention of the Global Times.
"China only transplanted lungs from around 150 of the 2,766 volunteers who donated their lungs last year, and many of those donated lungs have been wasted," said Dr. Chen Jingyu, the deputy head of the Wuxi People's Hospital.
According to Chen, who is a leading lung surgeon in the country, only 50 percent of the donated lungs become viable for transplant because the other half is "wasted en route" because the transport of the organs takes too long.
Chen also noted that the hospital staff lacks the knowledge on how to properly store and maintain the organs, especially lungs and hearts which require more delicate handling.
Aside from that, Organ Transplantation Center of Peking University Director Zhu Jiye revealed that China has only 22 hospitals that are qualified to perform organ transplants which leave the donated organs longer in storage.
"In Beijing, only two hospitals are qualified to conduct heart and lung transplants, but 22 hospitals are qualified for kidney and liver transplants," Zhu stated.
