Heart and Organ Transplants in China
Heart transplants are relatively common in the UK and U.S. In countries like China and Japan, however, due to limitations in technology, cultural taboos, and the fear of people selling their organs, acceptance of organ transplants have been slow in coming. The China View reports that Chinese doctors have successfully transplanted the heart of a brain-dead patient for the first time in their country.
In China, a country that has long believed that death comes only after the heart stops beating and the body turns cold, at least 2 million patients need organ transplants each year, but only 20,000 such operations can be carried out because of the shortage of donated organs.
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POSTED IN: Heart Transplants
5 opinions for Heart and Organ Transplants in China
A Hearty Life » Grand Rounds 2(42) at donorcycle
Jul 11, 2006 at 11:20 am
[…] TC at donorcycle is hosting this week’s issue of Grand Rounds 2:42. You can tell she just passed her exam to become a certified procurement transplant coordinator (CPTC) (congratulations!) because of the clever way in which she organized the carnival this week. And appropriately, my submission is under the category of “Straight From the Heart.” […]
Kim
Jul 13, 2006 at 10:41 pm
This is quite an amazing story.
Hopefully, a trend in recognizing organ donation as a good thing has begun in China with this operation.
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Jul 14, 2006 at 11:50 am
Kim: I sure hope so because with a population the size of China’s, there’s a great deal of need.
Dr. Wahaaj
Sep 19, 2006 at 9:22 am
We have a patient who needs liver transplantation. Please let us know how much will cost.
regards
Dr. M. Hashim Wahaaj
Director Wahaaj Diagnostic Institute and clinic
Kabul Afghanistan.
Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD
Sep 19, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Dr. Wahaaj: I’m sorry I won’t be able to help. I am a science and health writer and A Hearty Life provides information only. Best of luck to your patient.
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