Organ donations must become more transparent

With Hong Kong hosting the 26th international congress of The Transplantation Society from Aug 18 to 22, the first by a Chinese city, the significant increase in organ donations in China has come under the spotlight.

Last year, 2,766 donors donated 7,785 major organs, higher than the combined total for 2013 and 2014. In the first half of this year alone, the number of donated organs reached 5,029, up 45 percent year-on-year.

In terms of donors per 1 million population, China ranks 44th on the global list. This is a great improvement given the dismal number of organs donated in the past and China's decision to not use executed convicts' organs in transplantations from Jan 1, 2015.