New system to boost number of organ donors

Beijing - Chinese donors can now pledge their organs for use in life-saving transplants in parts of the country where nearly 99 out of 100 patients die because of a shortage in organ donations, Vice-Health Minister Huang Jiefu said.

The country's first posthumous organ donation system, jointly launched in March by the Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Health in 10 pilot regions including Tianjin, Wuhan and Shenzhen cities, is now ready to serve applicants, Huang said.

The system will be expanded nationwide in the coming years, Huang said.