Acting Secretary for Health Dr Libby Lee today appealed to citizens to support organ donations by enrolling in the centralised register for donations.

Dr Lee made the appeal on Organ Donation Day, which since 2016 has been observed on the second Saturday of every November, and the anniversary of the launch of the Centralised Organ Donation Register (CODR).

Organ Donation Day serves to encourage organ donations and promote a positive culture of support for them in Hong Kong.

Addressing an event to mark the occasion, Dr Lee said that currently more than 2,000 patients are awaiting organ transplants in the city.

“To shorten patients’ waiting times for organ transplants and to bring new life to them, active support for organ donations by members of the public is critically important,” she said.

She also noted that over 363,000 registrations have been recorded in the CODR and encouraged more members of the public to turn their thoughts into action by joining the register.

Past surveys have revealed that among those not willing to donate their organs after death, the majority said this was because they wanted to keep their bodies intact.

Regarding this traditional belief, representatives from six religious groups unanimously stated today that organ donation does not violate their religious doctrines and called on believers to actively support donations.