Another story by Beijing Youth Daily is also related to public awareness.
Tongren Hospital is the country's largest eye specialty hospital. However, patients in desperate need of cornea transplants have to wait a minimum of a couple of months because the storage of cornea tissue in its eye bank is zero.tdue to a shortage of donors.
Doctors tell the Beijing Youth Daily that a fresh cornea tissue can usually be kept for around two weeks, but currently the average time in the refrigerator is just a few hours before being transplanted to recipients. At the moment there is a waiting list of more than 700 people who have registered for the surgery, meaning that those at the end may have to wait up to 3 years.
The paper says the problem is that the reasons for not donating body parts are deep rooted in Chinese society. It points out that it's not viable to change this culture overnight. But it also argues that, as the country becomes globalized, its mentality should also become more open on such issues, and it calls on the government to take the lead in promoting awareness of the need for donors.
