Supported by the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) and Red Cross Society of China, the 2016 China International Organ Donation Conference was held in Beijing from Oct 17 to 19, the first time it had been held on the Chinese mainland.

Vice-premier Liu Yandong gave an address. Chen Zhu, president of Red Cross Society of China, Li Bin, minister of the NHFPC, and Huang Jiefu, director of the China Organ Donation and Transplantation Commission and former vice-minister of health, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Margaret Chan, the director-general of the World Health Organization, gave a speech through video. 

Liu said organ donation and transportation relates to patient health and is a life-saving practice, which reflects on social justice and humanity. Organ donation and transportation symbolizes a nation's medical development and social progress. China has paid great attention to organ donation and transplantation, having developed the Human Organ Transplant Ordinance, formulated policies, and set up the China Organ Donation and Transplantation Commission to push forward organ donation and transplantation according to the law.                                    

China follows internationally accepted ethical principles and its own national situations, ensuring organs are used for people in urgent need. 

China will share and learn experiences with global nations to improve its organ donation and transplantation system.                       

Li Bin said China has set up a fair and ethical organ donation and transplant system, which is protected by law and suits the national condition. For the next step, China will further develop the system with improved policies and scientific innovations.

Margaret Chan highly praised China's progress in organ donation and transplant. She said China's experience is useful for countries that face the similar challenges. The leaders of China's top health authorities and medical staff gave her a strong impression and the WHO will support China's organ donation and transplant efforts. 

Huang Jiefu hoped that the international community could give more support to China's organ donation and transplant system, thus making more contributions to human health.

The conference invited more than 600 experts to discuss China's organ donation and transplant policy and relevant topics.

The number of people who donated organs after death in China this year had reached 2,950 by the end of September, which is an increase of 50 percent compared with the same period last year, said Wang Haibo, director of the China Organ Transplant Response System, which is responsible for organ distribution in China.