Hong Kong may renew efforts to boost organ donations by considering initiating discussions on an opt-out mechanism, Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin has revealed, stressing that the city’s transplant rate is lower than in many other developed economies.
Advertisement
The Post takes a look at Hong Kong’s organ donation situation and whether an opt-out mechanism has helped to drive up rates elsewhere.
1. How does Hong Kong’s organ donation rate stack up?
Hong Kong’s organ donation rate is among the lowest in the world. In 2024, there were 4.13 deceased donors per million people in Hong Kong, according to data from the International Registry in Organ Donation and Transplantation.
The figure was much lower than in countries with high donation rates, such as Spain, which had 53.93 deceased donors per million people, and the United States, which had 49.7.
Asian countries with relatively higher rates were Iran at 14.05 and South Korea at 7.75.
Advertisement
Japan, considered to be among the most developed countries in Asia, had a rate of 1.13 last year.