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Around an exuberant and gigantic banyan tree in Jitian Cemetery in Shenzhen， south China’s Guangdong Province， is a special plot reserved as the final resting place for more than 20 people who have posthumously donated their organs since 2006， including a two-year-old boy who drowned and several young victims of traffic accidents.
Gao Min is a frequent visitor to the graveyard. She coordinated the organ donations and made sure that even as their lives ended， others might be given a second chance.
She became a coordinator for the city’s organ donation pilot program in 2005 when she was a volunteer for the Shenzhen branch of the Red Cross Society of China （RCSC）. Before that， she was already famous in the city for donating blood more than 100 times.
Born in rural Shandong Province， Gao came to Shenzhen in 1997 to take care of her niece while her younger sister worked. That year， she donated blood for the first time at a mobile blood bank while on the way to a grocery store.
As a volunteer organ donation coordinator， she has successfully coordinated 87 organ donations in the past eight years， more than any other coordinators in the country.
A challenging job
Currently， there are 332 organ donation coordinators all over the country， said Gao Xinpu， deputy head of the Business Department of China Human Organ Donation Management Center. The center was jointly launched on July 6， 2012， by the RCSC and the then Ministry of Health to oversee organ donation at the national level.
Most coordinators went into this role after an organ donation program was piloted in 19 Chinese provinces in March 2010. As of February 22， coordinators had helped 659 donors contribute 1，804 organs， according to the RCSC， which has been entrusted with organ donation administration.
In February， Zhao Baige， Executive Vice President of the RCSC， urged the expansion of the pilot program to all provinces and regions by the end of the year.
Under the current program， when first-line doctors identify a potential organ donor， usually a fatally ill or brain-dead person， they should contact an organ donation coordinator， who will communicate with the potential donor or his or her family members to persuade them to donate the person’s organ after the person’s death.
A coordinator’s responsibility is to interpret relevant government policies and provide necessary knowledge， yet they cannot induce donations， said Gao. China is facing a shortage of human organs for transplant. Official statistics show that about 300，000 patients are waiting for surgery each year， but only 10，000 receive such operations.
Traditional beliefs make Chinese people hesitant to donate organs. Many believe bodies should be kept intact even if they are to be cremated. It is also considered inauspicious to ask a healthy person about posthumous organ donation.
Objections from family members are a formidable challenge for Gao. Once， the parents of a girl fatally injured in a traffic accident contacted Gao， and signed an agreement to donate the girl’s organs. Days later， the parents called again saying the girls’ grandparents strongly opposed.
“In such case， we will respect the decision of potential organ donor’s family， even if organ recipient is waiting at the operating table at another hospital，” Gao said.
According to Cao Yanfang， a coordinator in east China’s Zhejiang Province， two thirds of candidates or their families refuse to donate organs. As a nurse in the intensive care unit （ICU） of a hospital， she had witnessed young people died of severe brain injuries while others died of organ failures. In 2010， when Zhejiang piloted its organ donation project， the 28-year-old Cao volunteered to become a coordinator to save lives through organ transplants.
She said although family members know that there is no hope to save a patient from death， organ donation means giving up further treatment.
Some families worry that organ donation agreements might give doctors incentives to withhold life-saving treatment.
Organ donation coordinators say they would not ask a patient’s family to sign a donation agreement if there is any hope to save the patient’s life， Cao said.
Only after making sure that a potential donor’s situation is hopeless will the coordinator discuss organ donation with the family.“Communication is not easy， especially when the entire family is sad and desperate，” Cao said.
Besides overseeing donations， coordinators have actually done a lot to help donors’ families， said Cao.
“We regard donors’ families as our kin， so we can identify their needs，” said Cao. She said that during holidays， coordinators usually send greetings to donor families.
Current regulations in China stipulate that organ donations should be voluntary and uncompensated.
“When donor’s families are in difficulty， they can be given some psychological and humanitarian assistance，” said Liu Weixin， deputy director of China Human Organ Donation Management Center. Gao wished she could do more to help donors and their families. She told Hong Kongbased Phoenix Satellite TV that at the end of 2012， a 33-year-old single mother with terminal cancer talked to her about her wish to donate organs.
The patient told Gao that her 7-year-old daughter， born out of wedlock， did not go to school. She begged Gao to help her daughter and find a good family to adopt her.
She passed away in early 2013. By then， the girl was still living with her ill grandmother and still isn’t in school. Gao says she will continue to help the daughter anyway she can.
Volunteer coordinators
Coordinating donations， though difficult and certainly meaningful， remains pro bono.
Gao has never received compensation besides reimbursements for telephone and transportation costs in her eight years of coordinating for the RCSC. She is primarily supported by her younger sister.
But the job of organ donation coordinator might become a paid one this year， according to the China Human Organ Donation Management Center.
Existing volunteers who meet standards set by the Ministry of Health and China Human Organ Donation Management Center may qualify for professional positions in coordinating organ donations， said Gao Xinpu of the organ donation center.
Thereafter， most organ donation coordinators in China should have medical backgrounds， and they should be trained and evaluated by the RCSC， said Gao Xinpu， who believes the country should have one professional organ donation coordinator for every million people. For a nation with 1.3 billion population， that would mean recruiting and training 1，300 professional coordinators.
“Every year there are 154，000 potential donors in China’s ICUs. As long as we do our work， we can have at least 40，000 donors and 110，000 organs every year，” said Huang Jiefu， former Vice Minister of Health and one of the leading advocates for organ donation. Huang said that would lower the ratio of patients waiting for organs to those who can receive transplants to 3：1.
Gao Min is a frequent visitor to the graveyard. She coordinated the organ donations and made sure that even as their lives ended， others might be given a second chance.
She became a coordinator for the city’s organ donation pilot program in 2005 when she was a volunteer for the Shenzhen branch of the Red Cross Society of China （RCSC）. Before that， she was already famous in the city for donating blood more than 100 times.
Born in rural Shandong Province， Gao came to Shenzhen in 1997 to take care of her niece while her younger sister worked. That year， she donated blood for the first time at a mobile blood bank while on the way to a grocery store.
As a volunteer organ donation coordinator， she has successfully coordinated 87 organ donations in the past eight years， more than any other coordinators in the country.
A challenging job
Currently， there are 332 organ donation coordinators all over the country， said Gao Xinpu， deputy head of the Business Department of China Human Organ Donation Management Center. The center was jointly launched on July 6， 2012， by the RCSC and the then Ministry of Health to oversee organ donation at the national level.
Most coordinators went into this role after an organ donation program was piloted in 19 Chinese provinces in March 2010. As of February 22， coordinators had helped 659 donors contribute 1，804 organs， according to the RCSC， which has been entrusted with organ donation administration.
In February， Zhao Baige， Executive Vice President of the RCSC， urged the expansion of the pilot program to all provinces and regions by the end of the year.
Under the current program， when first-line doctors identify a potential organ donor， usually a fatally ill or brain-dead person， they should contact an organ donation coordinator， who will communicate with the potential donor or his or her family members to persuade them to donate the person’s organ after the person’s death.
A coordinator’s responsibility is to interpret relevant government policies and provide necessary knowledge， yet they cannot induce donations， said Gao. China is facing a shortage of human organs for transplant. Official statistics show that about 300，000 patients are waiting for surgery each year， but only 10，000 receive such operations.
Traditional beliefs make Chinese people hesitant to donate organs. Many believe bodies should be kept intact even if they are to be cremated. It is also considered inauspicious to ask a healthy person about posthumous organ donation.
Objections from family members are a formidable challenge for Gao. Once， the parents of a girl fatally injured in a traffic accident contacted Gao， and signed an agreement to donate the girl’s organs. Days later， the parents called again saying the girls’ grandparents strongly opposed.
“In such case， we will respect the decision of potential organ donor’s family， even if organ recipient is waiting at the operating table at another hospital，” Gao said.
According to Cao Yanfang， a coordinator in east China’s Zhejiang Province， two thirds of candidates or their families refuse to donate organs. As a nurse in the intensive care unit （ICU） of a hospital， she had witnessed young people died of severe brain injuries while others died of organ failures. In 2010， when Zhejiang piloted its organ donation project， the 28-year-old Cao volunteered to become a coordinator to save lives through organ transplants.
She said although family members know that there is no hope to save a patient from death， organ donation means giving up further treatment.
Some families worry that organ donation agreements might give doctors incentives to withhold life-saving treatment.
Organ donation coordinators say they would not ask a patient’s family to sign a donation agreement if there is any hope to save the patient’s life， Cao said.
Only after making sure that a potential donor’s situation is hopeless will the coordinator discuss organ donation with the family.“Communication is not easy， especially when the entire family is sad and desperate，” Cao said.
Besides overseeing donations， coordinators have actually done a lot to help donors’ families， said Cao.
“We regard donors’ families as our kin， so we can identify their needs，” said Cao. She said that during holidays， coordinators usually send greetings to donor families.
Current regulations in China stipulate that organ donations should be voluntary and uncompensated.
“When donor’s families are in difficulty， they can be given some psychological and humanitarian assistance，” said Liu Weixin， deputy director of China Human Organ Donation Management Center. Gao wished she could do more to help donors and their families. She told Hong Kongbased Phoenix Satellite TV that at the end of 2012， a 33-year-old single mother with terminal cancer talked to her about her wish to donate organs.
The patient told Gao that her 7-year-old daughter， born out of wedlock， did not go to school. She begged Gao to help her daughter and find a good family to adopt her.
She passed away in early 2013. By then， the girl was still living with her ill grandmother and still isn’t in school. Gao says she will continue to help the daughter anyway she can.
Volunteer coordinators
Coordinating donations， though difficult and certainly meaningful， remains pro bono.
Gao has never received compensation besides reimbursements for telephone and transportation costs in her eight years of coordinating for the RCSC. She is primarily supported by her younger sister.
But the job of organ donation coordinator might become a paid one this year， according to the China Human Organ Donation Management Center.
Existing volunteers who meet standards set by the Ministry of Health and China Human Organ Donation Management Center may qualify for professional positions in coordinating organ donations， said Gao Xinpu of the organ donation center.
Thereafter， most organ donation coordinators in China should have medical backgrounds， and they should be trained and evaluated by the RCSC， said Gao Xinpu， who believes the country should have one professional organ donation coordinator for every million people. For a nation with 1.3 billion population， that would mean recruiting and training 1，300 professional coordinators.
“Every year there are 154，000 potential donors in China’s ICUs. As long as we do our work， we can have at least 40，000 donors and 110，000 organs every year，” said Huang Jiefu， former Vice Minister of Health and one of the leading advocates for organ donation. Huang said that would lower the ratio of patients waiting for organs to those who can receive transplants to 3：1.