Transplant system will 'ensure fair allocation'(2)

Organ: System must be carried out 'gradually and cautiously'

"With matching recipients, the hospital that procures organ donations should at least have one organ harvested and transplanted for its own patient," he said.

The other organs donated are allocated first in the city and then the province.

But Gao stressed that putting all organ donations through the allocation system will become standard procedure.

"That should be regulated by the health authority and requires a matching mechanism to facilitate supervision by the Red Cross," Gao urged.

He was concerned whether the coming mandate would hurt hospitals' enthusiasm, as they might fear that the organ donations they procure could be used by other hospitals.

"More time and caution is needed for related issue planning and implementation," he said, pointing out that China's organ donation system was just getting off the ground and scaled up nationwide after a three-year trial in various regions.

Regarding the inconsistency between local practice and national policy, Wang Haibo said the policy should not simply be altered based on individual preference. The suggestion for policy revision should be subjected to review and approval by the China national organ donation expert committee.

Men Tongyi, a leading kidney transplant surgeon at Qiaofoshan Hospital in Jinan, Shandong province, agreed, adding that step-by-step progress is more practical.

He conceded that they had not yet turned to the system for allocation.

"The provincial Red Cross is now in charge of the allocation and sharing of organ donations within Shandong," he said.

Of the nearly 100 kidney transplants performed in the hospital last year, 13 were deceased public organ donations, procured by the hospital and others.

Li Peng, a doctor at the procurement center of the General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command of the PLA, thought otherwise.

"We've long been waiting for such a regulation," he said.

Without the system, "how can we ensure fair allocation and bolster public willingness to donate", he noted.

When asked by donor families if the organs only go to the rich and powerful, "I can firmly say 'no' and show them the system", he said.

The first to use the system, the hospital has performed nearly 40 public deceased organ donations since 2011 involving about 100 organs, he revealed.

Nearly half went to other hospitals and some even went outside Guangdong via the system.

However, "we never received one from others", he complained.

He urged quick introduction of the regulation to address the problem, which he said is caused primarily by poor awareness and hospital-based organ allocation.