Forty-five people sign documents saying they are willing to donate their organs after death, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in May. LIN YUNLONG/FOR CHINA DAILY Fairness is central goal as humans are barred from distribution decisions All donated organs for transplantation must be distributed through a unified computer platform to ensure fair and transparent distribution and traceability, under a regulation released on Monday by the National Health Commission. The regulation, which takes effect on March 1, bans any organization or individual from distributing donated organs on their own. Hospitals where transplant surgeries are performed should enter the information of all patients waiting for transplants into the China Organ Transplant Response System and keep it updated, the regulation said. Organ procurement organizations should get in touch with hospitals promptly after the system has sent notifications of available organs to make sure the information was received. Hospitals that have received notices should log on to the system within 30 minutes to check information regarding the organs and their donors, and reply within an hour whether to accept the organs for transplant. The hospitals should notify the procurement organizations immediately if they cannot do the transplant surgery after having received the organs. In that case, the organs will be redistributed. The transplant response system, supervised by health authorities at the provincial level or above, can automatically match donated organs with potential recipients and distribute organs based on defined principles, including urgency. Human input is removed to ensure fairness and transparency, Wang Haibo, who is in charge of the system, said in an earlier statement. Like many other countries, China's shortage of donated organs is a severe problem in the organ transplantation field. Every year about 300,000 patients with terminal diseases need transplants, but only about 20,000 surgeries can be done, Huang Jiefu, former vice-minister of health, said in an earlier interview. Organ donations in China have increased rapidly since 2015, when the authorities banned the use of organs retrieved from executed prisoners. That made voluntary donations the only legitimate source of organs. China has now become the second-largest country in number of annual organ transplant surgeries, next to the United States, according to the National Health Commission. As of the end of last year, the number of people who donated organs after death exceeded 21,000 in China, with more than 58,000 organs donated, the commission said. Chen Xinguo, director of the organ transplant center at the Armed Police Force General Hospital, said that in practice all organs used for transplant surgeries at the hospital are acquired through the electronic transplant response system. Although the system ensures fair and transparent distribution of donated organs, some problems remain, such as uneven quality of organs procured from different geographical areas, and the system's slow response time, which can hamper the process, he said. Previously major transplant centers would communicate with organ procurement organizations before the arrival of organs to ensure the organs are of high quality and can be used, he said. We hope all organs distributed are up to standard. Otherwise, substandard organs will cost lives and no doctor will use them. Now that distribution of organs through the China organ transplant response system is mandatory, it is necessary to constantly improve the system so it responds faster and hospitals can get the donated organs as soon as possible to prevent waste, Chen said. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
Liu Jieyi, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, is interviewed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 5, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua] The two sides of the Taiwan Straits must and will be reunified, Liu Jieyi, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions. Over the years, exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Straits have become more extensive and the bonds of affection between the two sides have deepened, he said. Our compatriots in Taiwan now better understand that only when the cross-Straits relations become better, will they have a better future, he said, adding that We are increasingly capable of promoting the peaceful reunification of the country and bringing benefits to compatriots on both sides. Although the situation remains severe and complicated,we have always taken the initiative in maintaining the dominant role in the cross-Straits relations, Liu said. National reunification is a historical task and an irresistible historical trend and the fact that both sides belong to one country has never changed, and Taiwan is part of China, he said. Liu said the proposal of one country, two systems is to take into account the reality of the island and protect the interests and well-being of Taiwan compatriots. After peaceful reunification, their way of life and social system will be fully respected, he added. On the basis of recognizing the 1992 consensus with the one-China principle and opposing Taiwan independence, the mainland is ready to conduct democratic consultations with representatives of political parties and people from all walks of life in Taiwan, according to Liu. We will conduct extensive and in-depth discussions on cross-Straits relations and the future of the Chinese nation with them, and make institutional arrangements together for the peaceful development, he added. Taiwan independence advocates are only a minority on the island, and they are the common enemy for both sides. Opposing those separatists is in the common interest of all Chinese people, he said. The mainland will continue to deepen the integrative development of the two sides, share the development opportunities of the mainland with Taiwan residents, and gradually provide them with the same treatment as the mainland residents when they study, start businesses, find jobs and live on the mainland.
