Lifesaving give and take

Xia Suisheng, a professor at Tongji Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and an organ transplant pioneer in China, died on Tuesday. His family members followed his wishes and donated his corneas to the hospital.

Besides Xia, Yang Cunhong, a 91-year-old retired official in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, also donated his body to a local medical university for scientific research before he died recently. Such high-profile donors will undoubtedly encourage more people in China to follow their example.

With the progress of society and the development of medical science and technology, more people are willing to donate their organs. The number of organ donors has increased from 0.03 per million people in 2010 to the current 4.53, and China's annual volume of donated organs now ranks second in the world. By March 28, 2019, there were more than 1.16 million registered organ donors in China, with over 22,000 successful donations. However, the supply of organs is far from sufficient, with the supply-demand ratio being 1 to 30, while the ratio is 1 to 4 in the United States and 1 to 3 in the United Kingdom.