China began a voluntary organ donation trial in 2010 and promoted the practice across the country in 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

Organ donations in China reached a record high last year, after sourcing organs from executed prisoners was banned, said Huang Jiefu, former vice-minister of health.

"Organ transplantation in China has made a successful transformation in the past year," Huang said. "It has won recognition by the world."

The number of organ donors in China reached 2,766 last year, and more than 10,000 surgeries were performed, outnumbering the total for 2013 and 2014, Huang said.

China stopped the use of organs from executed prisoners for transplant surgery on Jan 1 last year, and voluntary donations from citizens have become the only source.

Statistics from the National Health and Family Planning Commission show organ donations have been increasing rapidly.

The rate for organ donation per million of population reached 1.2 in 2014, a 60-fold increase from the level of 2010, the commission said.

The rate was increased to 2.1 per million last year, Huang said.

"Last year the success rate of transplant surgery in China was also the highest, as organs were donated from citizens rather than retrieved from executed prisoners," Huang, also chairman of the National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, said.

The progress of organ donation and transplant in China has also won recognition from the world, Huang said.

In last August, Huang became one of 19 receptions of the Gusi International Peace Prize, Asia's leading body to honor contributions to global peace and progress.

Huang was rewarded for his remarkable contributions in medicine, including "orchestrating the entire organ transplantation reform, ending the use of executed prisoners' organs, and developing the necessary social, legal and clinical framework to enable large-scale organ donation in China."

In August, an international conference on organ transplantation will be held in Hong Kong, where a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the Transplant Society will be held, Huang said.

In addition, another international conference on organ donation will be held in Beijing in October, he said.

Huang expects major progress in organ transplants and donations in China this year.

Huang, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee, said he has made a proposal that kidney transplant surgery should be covered by China's basic medical insurance system, so all those in need can access the service.

Kidney transplant is an effective means to treat end-stage kidney diseases, which usually have high costs, and such patients' life quality can be greatly increased after surgery.

"China's organ transplantation has become a cause of social interdependence," Huang said. "As all organs are donated free, all people should have equal rights to enjoy the transplant services. Nobody should be rejected just because they are poor."

By WANG XIAODONG (chinadaily.com.cn)