Govt working with mainland to regularize emergency organ transplant request mechanism

The health chief stated that Hong Kong is committed to enhancing collaboration with the mainland in organ donation and transplantation, including establishing a cross-boundary organ donation mechanism.

Speaking on Saturday at a forum on organ transplant and bionic medicine in Beijing, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau mentioned the unprecedented cross-boundary organ donation case made by the city and mainland in December 2022 that helped a 4-month-old baby undergo a successful heart transplant.

Lo said the success of the case "increases the chances of successful organ matches for patients awaiting organ transplants."

"Riding on this successful experience, the Health Bureau and the Hospital Authority are strenuously working with relevant Mainland authorities to regularize the mechanism for handling emergency organ transplant requests," he added.

As the Institute of Organ Transplantation and Bionic Medicine of Tsinghua University and the Hong Kong Scientist Association (HKSA) joined forces as strategic partners, they will investigate the key core issues of organ donation and transplantation in accordance with the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits.

As of September, the number of registrations on the Centralised Organ Donation Register in Hong Kong has reached an all-time high of over 380,000.