Hanoi (VNA) - The number of peopleregistered for tissue and organ donation has remained very small and fails tomeet the nation’s demand for organ transplants, said Nguyen Hoang Phuc, Deputy Directorof the National Coordinating Centre for Human Organ Transplantation.

The number of volunteers registered for tissueand organ donation has increased in the past several years. In 2014, there wereonly 265 volunteers registered for tissue and organ donation after death orbrain death.

As of 2015, the number increased to 2,000, andby 2018, the number has grown to nearly 18,000. 

However, there was a huge gap between the needfor organ transplants and limited organ donation, Phuc said.

He said the law on donation, removal andtransplantation of human tissues and organs, which was passed in 2006, hascreated a legal framework for the activities in the country.

It has also encouraged those who were qualifiedand willing to donate a part of their body while alive or tissues and organsafter death. Accordingly, any person 18 years old or older who has civilcapacity and voluntary behavior has the right to donate tissues and organswhile alive or after death.

Phuc said the receipt of tissues and organs fortransplants had to meet strict criteria for hygiene.

Figures from the Traffic Safety Committee showedthat in one year an average of nearly 10,000 people died from trafficaccidents, he added.

Although the numbers were not desirable, access todonor organs from these individuals could meet the need for organ transplants,Phuc said.

The health sector has made efforts to educateand encourage the community to open its heart to donate tissues and organs tohelp save lives in the future, he said.-VNA