Drivers obtaining their license will have to fill out an organ-donation form to state whether they will be organ donors in the event of a fatal accident, Chongqing Evening News reported Monday.
Huang Jiefu, vice-minister of health, said in an interview that this plan is being adopted because of the severe organ-donation shortage in China – statistics show every year only 10,000 out of 1.5 million patients can receive the organ they need. In other words, the supply-and-demand ratio of organs is 1:150. “The gap is huge, and severe,” Huang added.
The new policy, which will be implemented by the end of this year, will ask applicants to fill out a form, stating whether or not they’d like to donate their organ after a fatal accident, and if they answer YES, which organs they wish to donate.
“We’ll soon issue related compensation measures to ensure donors’ interests,” said Huang, who also said the policies would include deduction of transplant-related hospital fees, deduction of burial fees, and preferential tax cuts for family members.
By Jia Xu (chinadaily.com.cn)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2011-04/25/content_12388804.htm