Legal obstacles stymie mechanism on organ donation between Hong Kong, mainland

Legal hurdles remain a reason that a proposed regular mechanism on organ donation between Hong Kong and mainland China has yet to materialise since discussions started in 2022, according to a top health official from the country.

Wang Haibo, director of the China Organ Transplant Response System (COTRS), told the Post on the sidelines of the Hospital Authority Convention on Tuesday that it would take time to revise laws on the mainland to spur the establishment of the mechanism.

“There is a legal hurdle for that,” Wang said. “We have the HIV regulation. We ban [the transfer of] organs across the border.

“Organ, blood and tissue … cannot [be transferred] across the border.”

COTRS is a national system which allocates organs for transplants throughout the country.

Wang said that the specific law that stymied the development of the cross-border mechanism was related to controls to prevent the spread of HIV.