The 71st World Health Assembly is currently underway in Geneva. This is the first time in history that the WHO has hosted a side-event on organ transplantation during the assembly. The head of China's National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee Huang Jiefu gave a keynote address during the event. Xue Jingmeng has more.

Huang Jiefu began his speech by refuting claims of China's mass organ transplantation numbers, as well as the involuntary harvesting of organs. In doing so, he showed how China's organ monitoring system uses big data to track donations and transplants. The figures he used show that at the end of 2017, just over fifteen-thousand Chinese civilians donated their organs after they died. And over 42,000 solid organs were transplanted in China. The figures also showed that just over 5,000 organs were donated in 2017, and over 16,000 organ transplants were performed, ranking the second place in the world.

HUANG JIEFU, DIRECTOR CHINA'S NATIONAL ORGAN DONATION & TRANSPLANTATION COMMITTEE "The National Organ Donation and Transplantation Monitoring System -- Driven by Big-Data -- has been set up to ensure organ distribution is traceable and fair, as well as enforced. We still have a long way to go. I would like to emphasize that, China gives all the support possible to the WHO Task Force for the rightful cause of global organ transplantation."

Delegates from Spain, Russia, Uruguay, Qatar and many other countries also shared their own experience and ideas about organ transplantation. The participants said the Global Kidney Exchange Program is a new kind of organ trafficking, and needs to be opposed. And countries need to establish organ donation systems that suit their own needs in order to be self-sufficient with organ transplantations.

PHILIP O'CONNELL, FORMER CHAIRMAN INTERNATIONAL ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION ASSOCIATION "Governments therefore have responsibilities to provide the capacity to treat these diseases, they need legislation, they need regulations, they need facilities, they need human capital, they need to educate the people, and to educate medical practitioners."

China has been implemented reforms for the past 10 years. In 2009, China banned "organ transplantation tourism". And Since January 1st, 2015, China completely stopped using organs derived from judicial channels, making voluntary contributions the only legitimate source. China's model has been recognized a model that can serve as a reference for other member states of United Nations.

FRANCIS L. DELMONICO EXPERT ON ORGAN DONATION AND TRANSPLANTATION "It is the government of China, that is so important in making its reform, with not happen, high leadership of government is involved."

Advancing organ donation and transplantation is the side event's common mission. A task force, initially proposed by China at last year's meeting, aims to strengthen and extend international communication and cooperation among different countries, and make contributions to the global implementation of the WHO.

JOSE RAMON NUNEZ ORGAN TRANSPLANT PROJECT DIRECTOR, WHO "We have to use China to spread its way of thinking to countries with similar circumstances, as well as using European countries to spread their way of thinking to other countries. That is the main role of this Task Force. WHO is going to lead that with these experts."