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SCMP Reporter

SCMP, November 13, 2002

By Chow Chung-yan

A territory-wide organ donor campaign is being launched today to find people prepared to help the hundreds of patients waiting for kidney, liver, heart, lung and bone transplants.

Many people who could have been saved died because of the shortage of donor organs, said Beatrice Cheng Shun-yan, executive manager of the Hospital Authority.

'The demand for various organs has outstripped the number of donations. Last year only 48 patients received kidney transplants, out of a waiting list of 1,000. 	On average, they have to wait 20 years,' 	she said.

Dr Cheng said it was important to promote the idea of organ donation.

Last year there were 23 liver donors for 100 patients needing urgent treatment. And demands for heart, lung and bone all outstripped supply.

Dr Cheng said the situation had improved slightly in the first half of this year. 'Up to June, we carried out 43 kidney transplants. That's about the same as last year.'

Dr Cheng said the traditional Chinese culture of keeping bodies intact hindered efforts to encourage organ donation.

'Many relatives are reluctant to give away the organ of their deceased. We must carry out more public education on this,' 	she said.

Dr Cheng apologised again for the August liver blunder, in which a donated liver was wasted because of a quota system for transplant operations. The case was brought to light by the South China Morning Post.

Dr Cheng said since then, hospital policy had been reviewed to avoid 		further blunders.

'We have improved the co-ordination. From time to time the authority will review the transplant result, waiting time, and priorities to make proper adjustments,' 	she said.

The government, the transport industry and charity groups have teamed up to launch the campaign aimed at distributing 600,000 donation cards to the public in the next month, the highest number of cards issued in the past six years.

The cards will be given to 6,000 taxi drivers and about 1,000 minibus drivers for distribution to passengers. This accounts for one-third of the taxis in Hong Kong and a quarter of minibuses.

People can also pick them up at Star Ferry terminals and Kowloon-Canton Railway and Light Rail customer centres.

Dr Cheng noted that the number of public hospital patients suffering kidney failure had reached 3,459 this year.

She said that as well as calling for more organ donations, the authority would also study how to prevent kidney disease.

About 30 per cent of kidney failures in Hong Kong were caused by diabetes, she added.

Dr Cheng said the proposed increase to public hospital fees would not affect patients' chances for transplants. She said the government would be flexible.

Glossary

who... (relative clause) Who is used in both defining and non-defining relative clauses. It helps to give more information about the subject of the sentence.

In the article, the main sentence is: Many people died because they failed to find a donor organ. The who- clause tells the readers more - that these people could have been saved.

When you come across this sentence structure, do not be scared off by its length. Cover up the relative clause first. Get the idea of the main sentence. Then read the extra information you can get from the relative clause.

outstrip (v) to exceed; to go far beyond

on average (phrase) You may already know what on average means. In the context of the article, it means usually and ordinarily. It says patients usually have to wait 20 years for a transplant.

Many students are confused about the preposition that should be used in the phrase. Remember 'on' is the correct one. It is wrong to say 'in average' or 'at average'.

We may also say 'on an average'.

intact (adj) unbroken; having all the parts

Example: Famous Hollywood star Nicole Kidman said: 'I still would probably choose a marriage and an intact family over my career.' (SCMP, November 7, 2002)

blunder (n) a stupid or careless mistake

Discussion points

? Would you sign up for the organ donation scheme? Why?

? What information would you like to know before making your decision? Or would you join the scheme without hesitation?

? What extra information are you looking for?

? Would you help to promote the campaign to your family? If yes, how? If not, why?



Campaign seeks to encourage organ donations