Public call for organ donations
- Details
- Category: Charity Ningbo
- Published: Monday, 12 March 2012 13:38
Today marks the seventh World Kidney Day, the theme of which this year is "Donate-- Kidneys for Life --Receive". Public support for organ donation is vital so that more patients with kidney failures can have the opportunity to receive kidney transplants and more lives can be saved.
According to Bao Beiyan, director of Nephrology Division in No.2 Yinzhou Hospital, chronic kidney disease is proved highly prevalent in China, with one patient out of ten people. A large number of patients with chronic kidney disease worsen into uremia. There are more than two million uremic patients in China now, and chronic kidney failure has become one of the leading causes for death. In Ningbo, the number of patients with chronic kidney disease is on the rise. Statistics show that in 2011 Nephrology division in No.2 Yinzhou Hospital accepted 21,829 outpatients, an increase of 18% over 2010.
Although hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis are able to renew the lives of patients, they suffer great pains from long-term dialysis. Usually, a patient needs to receive 4-5 hour hemodialysis two or three times a week, which is both time-consuming and costly for their families. There are still a lot of inconvenience although some patients are able to conduct self-operation at home under professional guidance.
Kidney transplant is proved the most successful one among all organ transplants. A uremic patient can be cured after transplantation and lead a normal family life again. Yao Xuping, head of No.2 Yinzhou Hospital, said kidney transplant is a relatively mature technology. They have carried out 1020 kidney operations since the first kidney transplant in 1992, the success rate being 99%.
However, due to the severe shortage of human organs in China, every year less than one percent of uremic patients are fortunate enough to receive kidney transplants. Since the implementation of the Human Organ Transplantation Regulation in 2007, organ donation becomes the only source of organ transplants in China.
In December 2011, Ningbo became the pilot city of the human organ donation. A year later, Sun Yonghai from Northeast China became the first donor by donating his liver, two kidneys, and cornea, bringing new life to five people. His noble act has inspired more citizens to join the voluntary organ donation. According to the Ningbo Red Cross, the number of organ donators has risen from 32 in December 2011 to the current 169, with three become actual organ donors. However, with hundreds of thousands of uremic patients who are waiting for kidney transplants, organ donators are still in desperate need.
