Organ Donation: Experts in China vow to standardize transplantation process

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While organ donations and transplants are a common practice in western countries, that's not the case in China. Due to cultural beliefs, many are against the procedure altogether. But, the stigma is changing, in an attempt to save more lives. CGTN's Zhao Yunfei reports.

Losing a loved one is always difficult. But many families pledge to help others even in times of grief by donating organs of the deceased. It's a logistical process facilitated by specialized hospital staff, like Ge Yahui.

GE YAHUI ORGAN DONATION NEGOTIATOR "Many of my clients have hardly even heard of organ donation. They know very little about it. If you mention that even abruptly, they can hardly accept it."

But, such an offer after-death can change many others' lives. On the other side of the hospital, patients who have just undergone surgeries are recovering. Li Yuju just got his kidney replaced. He is thankful.

LI YUJU ORGAN RECIPIENT "I want to get to know more about my donor. I want to know what he or she looks like and what he or she does."

He'll never be able to know the donor due to the double blind policy. But there's one exception. Five organ recipients had the unique chance to meet their sole donor, Ye Sha, by web video.

They decided to honor Ye Sha by creating a basketball team, as he was an avid fan of the game. The video drew significant attention across the country on organ donation.

ZHAO YUNFEI ZHENGZHOU, HENAN PROVINCE "In China, about 300,000 patients need organ transplants each year. But the ratio of demand-to-supply is 30-to-1. Experts say organ donation is not an act of human compassion, but a result of good education."

The transplant process is a race against time. And there is still some debate over its standards. Internationally, organ donation after brain death, or DBD, is widely adapted. But due to cultural beliefs, most Chinese only accept a donation after brain death followed by circulatory death, or DBCD.

QU QINGSHAN, DIRECTOR ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION CENTER, ZHENGZHOU "If brain death can legally be defined as death, it will make our organ transplant process much easier. The quality of organs will be better, too."

Many are still waiting to receive a new organ. Uremia patient Lyu Jinfu has been waiting in hospital for a matched kidney for nine months.

LYU JINFU UREMIA PATIENT "I am still very young, 26. If I were healthy now, I should have started my career like my peers. Whether working out of town or to staying with family, I'd be happy."

Lyu says he will not give up for a chance to be reborn.

Zhao Yunfei, CGTN, Zhengzhou, Henan Province.