CHINA: The Chinese government has promised to introduce new laws making organ donation easier, in order to help two million sick people on a waiting list for transplants.
No more than 20,000 transplant operations are carried out every year because of shortages, the official Xinhua news agency said. The new rules aim to standardise organ donation procedures and encourage people to become donors.
"Many more donors are needed, but they often meet difficulties when they apply, so the ministry must standardise the application process and technology of transplants, which is complicated and risky," health ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an said.
Encouraging more organ donation in China is a difficult task. There are a range of religious and cultural taboos which cause people to shy away. The same is true in other parts of Asia - in Japan, only a few dozen organs have been offered up for donation since 1997.
Buddhists believe that organ donation is an imperfection of the body and are often unwilling to donate, even for family members.
But the need is chronic: medical experts estimate that more than one million Chinese patients could benefit from a kidney transplant, but each year only about 5,000 kidney operations are performed.
Earlier this year, China banned the sale of human organs. The health ministry now requires the written consent of donors and restricts the number of hospitals allowed to perform operations. The government has tried to crack down on the illegal black market in organs. Signs spray-painted on walls outside hospitals advertise body organs and bulletin boards offer transplants.
Rich patients can approach brokers in Japan and Korea, who will arrange transplant operations in China. A kidney transplant costs an estimated €55,000 and a liver operation can run up to €130,000.