Red Cross awaits body donation law

A Red Cross official said Sunday they are awaiting new legislation regarding donation of bodies to medical science.

Li Chongsen, media officer of the Beijing branch of the Red Cross Society of China, told the Global Times that more and more people want to donate their body after death, but there is no law to regulate this.

"Beijing has a mature body donation environment so it should be chosen as a test case for the law. We proposed it in Beijing's two sessions in 2013 and are waiting for the feedback," said Li.

Li said that the proposed law is different from the previous rules regarding body donation.

"Before, despite donors having signed an agreement, it still needs their direct relatives' permission to complete the process. The proposed law means that the donors only need to sign the agreement," said Li.

The deep-rooted Chinese tradition that people should preserve the entire body after death has brought difficulty in body donation, said Li.

"Lots of the donors' offspring changed their mind after the donors' death. They just gave up. We need better laws," said Li.

From 1999 to 2012, Beijing had registered 15,727 people for body donation and 7,933 people had their wishes notarized. Only 1,407 people completed the donation. In 2012, 177 people in Beijing donated their body, according to the Beijing News Sunday.

Because the donated body is used for medical experiments, Li said the new law could accelerate Chinese medical development.

Li Yuhai, a retired project supervisor, said that he wanted to donate his body after death.

He was the second person in Beijing to have undergone a heart transplant in 2005 and he immediately offered his diseased heart for medical use.

"I don't care what they'll do to my body. However, I won't donate my body to the Red Cross because I don't trust government charity organizations. I'll directly donate my body to a hospital," said Li Yuhai.

Wang Mei, a kidney transplant doctor with Peking University People's Hospital, Xicheng district, said that nowadays not many people donated their body or organs.

"But a law can't solve the fundamental problem. Many people don't want to donate because they can't accept it. So more publicity about body donation is important," said Wang.

"Adults can decide what they want without getting relatives' permission. However, for those too old or too weak to think clearly and children, it's better to consult relatives' opinion for body donation after their death," said Wang.