Chances of getting a donor kidney in Hong Kong as low as 5 per cent

Hong Kong faces a severe continuing shortfall in kidney donors that is leaving many people in need of transplants with little or no chance of receiving one.

Hospital Authority figures showed 1,892 people were waiting for a kidney transplant as of June 30, and that only 99 received one last year. That means only around 5 per cent of those on the waiting list receive one.

Manesh Samtani is one of the lucky few, having finally received a kidney transplant seven months ago after a five-year wait.

His family members have had kidney problems for generations, and he was on daily dialysis in hospital for the duration of his wait. Samtani, 31, says the transplant changed his life.

"The problem is that when someone in Hong Kong passes away, no one knows what their wishes were before they died," he said. "The donation register is not obvious or accessible enough. People aren't made aware of the donation process."

The IT consultant attributed Hong Kong's low organ donation rates to weak social awareness, inadequate education, a lack of promotion on the need for organ donors, and traditional Chinese beliefs about the preservation of an intact body after death.