CHINA / National

Traditions hamper organ donations across China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-24 10:05

Millions of people with failing organs are waiting for donated transplants that don't exist, because traditions in China often require the body of the dead to be buried or cremated whole.

The Tianjin University of Medial Science is trying to change those traditional attitudes so that more people will be willing to donate their organs when they die. Anyone who agrees to fill out a consent form donating their body to science will be remembered and honored by having their last testament posted in a memorial hall at the university. The goal is to encourage others to do the same.

"I am very accomplished in life. There is no reason for sorrow at the end of my life. If you see death as the destiny at the end of a voyage, there is no reason to worry about what happens to your body," said one donor in his testament that is prominently posted in the memorial hall, which has received thousands of visitors since it opened in 2003.

"I volunteer to donate my body unconditionally to the country's medical cause. It is the last thing I can do for my country," wrote Li Boying, a farmer who died of cancer.

Li became a donor without informing his family, which strongly opposed his decision, but the cancer sufferer's last wish aimed at bringing hope to other people in pain.

While donating organs after death appalls many Chinese, millions of seriously ill people hope that changes soon.

 
 

Related Stories