China's Ministry of Health has announced that organ transplants will soon depend fully on voluntary donations in 3 to 5 years. Currently, a vast majority of organs come from executed felons but that will soon change.

China to launch legalized channel for organ donations.

Yang Shuhua has been given a new after a liver transplant. Told by doctors that her life was all but over back in 2010, Yang decided to join a waiting list for a liver transplant after a year of unsuccessful treatments. Yang Shuhua said, "My only goal is to have a liver transplant."

Daughter of a patient said, "To be frank, it's our last chance. We had to fight for it, or my mother would never go back home."

But her case is rare. Only one out of 150 people who need an organ transplant actually find a matched donor. Currently 90 percent of all organs used for transplants, come from convicted prisoners who have been executed.

But the rapid decrease of death penalty sentences has created a shortage of organs. In response, medical authorities in China have set up a national system of organ donation.

China's Organ Transplant Regulation first issued in 2007 is undergoing revision. Professor Shen Weixing, a member of the revising board explains how it will work.

Professor Shen Weixing, vice dean of School of Law, Tsinghua University, said, "The revised version has two features. One is focused on regulating organ donations, and the other is to entitle the Red Cross society, the authorized organization for donation promotion, registry, distribution, and donor family support."

The Red Cross Society has worked hard to expand and promote an organ donation system in China since 2010. In the new regulation, a clause will be included to encourage people to donate organs after they die. But the biggest barriers are deep rooted attitudes in Chinese culture.

Qiu Bao'an, director of Navy General Hospital, said, "Chinese consider the body a heritage from parents and want to keep the body intact even after death. Asking about organ donations to some means an impolite implication of sudden death. These factors make convincing people to donate their organs hard."

Medical Authorities in China believe saving lives through organ transplants may be improved by encouraging people to sign up as organ donors. But more importantly, the country should promote a scientific and transparent donation and distribution system, key to gaining public acceptance and trust.

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