A TRIP to the races may help stop lives being lost because of a lack of organ donors.
The Hong Kong Medical Association is writing to the Jockey Club, supermarkets, banks and housing estates to ask them to display donor cards, said association vice-president Dr So Kai-ming.
'It takes time to make these connections. It also depends on funding: these forms are very expensive to promote.' The association hopes to make it easy to pick up a donor card in busy places, he said yesterday, in particular referring to a form identifying potential donors to be registered on computer.
The register allows hospitals to have 24-hour access to a patient's donor status. At present, there are about 20,000 names in the system.
Awareness of the register improved through Organ Donation Week, when the association joined forces with the Hospital Authority and 18 district boards.
According to Medical Association president Dr Lee Kin-hung, activities including exhibitions and childrens' competitions aroused a lot of interest.
