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Exhibition inspires organ donation

AS CHINA'S medical sciences continue to make great leaps forward in saving lives with modern surgery techniques, physicians are being held back by a lack of transplant organs. It is the fault of old traditions that require the body of the dead to be buried or cremated whole if the deceased are to rest in peace in heaven.

The Tianjin University of Medial Science is trying to change those attitudes with a special memorial hall. Anyone who agrees to fill in a consent form donating their body to science will be remembered and honoured by having their last testament posted in the hall. The goal is to encourage others to do the same.

"I am very accomplished in life. There is no reason for sorrow at the end of my life. If you see death as the destiny at the end of a voyage there is no reason to worry about what happens to your body," said one of the donors in his testament that is prominently posted in the memorial hall, which has received thousands of visitors since it opened in 2003.

"I volunteer to donate my body unconditionally to the country's medical cause. It is the last thing I can do for my country," wrote Li Boying, a farmer who died of stomach cancer.

Li became a body donor without informing his family, which strongly opposed his decision, but the cancer sufferer's last wish aimed at bringing hope to other people in pain.

While the notion of donating organs after death appals many Chinese, there are millions of seriously ill people who hope they get over the old superstitions soon.

According to the Chinese Medical Association, there are 1.5 million people in China on waiting lists for a new kidney. Only 4,000 to 5,000 kidney transplants are performed each year.

Since 2003, 209 people have filled out consent forms donating their bodies to the university after they die. Among them are professors, calligraphist, government officials, and ordinary folk.

The oldest of the donators was aged 93 and the youngest 29, when they left the wills. — Xinhua

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