Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

Two uremia patients and one liver cancer patient started new lives on August 21, when they received organ transplants thanks to a Chongming family who donated the father's liver and two kidneys after his death from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The family originally wanted to give the father's kidney to his 27-year-old son, who has suffered from renal failure for a decade. However, when the medical test showed that the father and son were not a match, the family knew that his organs could help others and decided to donate them.

Although many neighbors and friends expressed respect and praise for the family, some criticized them for interfering with the body. People questioned why the family was willing to donate the organs as their removal would mean that the body is no longer intact. Some people even doubted their intentions and suspected that the family received benefits in return for the donations.

Chinese people traditionally respect the intactness of a deceased body and believe it's unforgivable to interfere with it. In the past, a body would be buried in a tomb, but in the 1950s cremation was promoted by the central government. Although it took time for the policy to become widely accepted, cremated bodies are now considered by some to be intact as long as organs are not removed. After beloved relatives pass away, family members will pay a lot of money to put his or her ashes in a peaceful resting place.

Ever since Shanghai started the city's organ donation project in 1982, some 33,000 people have registered as organ donors. Only 6,679 surgeries have been successfully performed in the past 30 years. According to Jiefang Daily, 70 percent of the organ transplant surgeries were operations between relatives. Right now, more than 400 patients in Zhongshan Hospital and over 500 in Ruijin Hospital are waiting for an organ match.

In this particular case, the Chongming county family decided to donate the organs to others because the son had a similar experience as many other patients and the family understood the pain and hopelessness of waiting for an uncertain future.

Tradition is never easy to change. It's understandable that people want their loved ones to rest in peace. It is only natural that it will take time to change people's beliefs. If no one donates, or people only donate when they need the surgery themselves, it might be too late. Guangming Daily reported last year that in China, roughly 1.5 million people need organ transplants each year but only 10,000 undergo the surgery.

To solve the shortage, the health authorities need to make more efforts in public education. Through various channels, such as television programs, street advertising and college lectures, the authorities can gradually educate people about the whole procedure and let them understand the significance of organ donation: it saves lives.

If the family members of the deceased are not in agreement, a donation cannot be conducted. Only wide social recognition of the issue can ensure more successful donations.

In addition, the authorities need to keep the entire procedure transparent to put to rest people's worries about unfairness. People want to know that the person who gets their loved one's organs is a qualified recipient.