Over 47,000 Shanghai residents registered for body, cornea donation by 2017

By Wang Yuan from People’s Daily

 

A total of 47,737  Shanghai residents have registered for body and cornea donation by the end of 2017, and 10,467 bodies and corneas have been donated. Both figures accounted for one third of the country’s total.

 

March 1, 2018 marked the city’s 16th annual Memorial Day for body donation. A promotional and memorial activity was held in one of the city’s cemeteries by the Shanghai branch of Red Cross Society of China (RCSC).

The RCSC Shanghai branch is the earliest organization in China that started body donation program in 1982. The branch has set up registration stations for body donation in 6 medical colleges and cornea banks in 4 hospitals of Shanghai.

There are numerous touching stories of donators in Shanghai. A former associate chief physician named Ge Jinxing from a hospital in Jiading district was one of them.

Before he passed away, Ge and his wife signed a body donation agreement. He hoped the donation would facilitate the medical students with a better understanding of human’s physical structure.

His wish was finally fulfilled after he passed away. In addition to his body, his corneas were also donated to help people in need.

Because of these stories, more and more citizens began to realize the value of body donation and the humanitarianism of the Red Cross spirit. Body donation is expected to gain broader acceptance in China alongside the advancing of society and improvement of civilization.

A farewell ceremony was held on March 31, 2017 at Shanghai-based Jiading District Central Hospital for Ge Jinxing who donated his body after passing away. (Photo from website of Jiading District People’s Government)

 

 

A sub-district level Red Cross Society of China holds a promotional activity for body and organ donation at a local community. (Photo from Shanghai branch of Red Cross Society of China.)