China is drafting a law on organ transplant to regulate the growing operation, a senior health official said Sunday.

"It's high time that China takes legislative step in organ transplant," said Vice Minister of Health Huang Jiefu at a forum on organ transplant held in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

Huang said that although significant technological progress has been made in organ transplant, problems still remain.

China will set up a special committee to draft regulations for organ transplant and work out technical standards for institutions that perform the operations, Huang said.

A nationwide network will also be established to improve the transparency of organ donors, according to the official.

In 2004, China registered nearly 2,600 cases of liver transplant and about 6,000 cases of kidney transplant, making itself the world's No. 2 following the United States in terms of the number of operations.

China will learn from other countries in the legislation of organ transplant, said Huang, who will attend such a conference to be organized by the World Health Organization in the Philippines next month.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2005)