ORGANS IN HONG KONG

HONG KONG: Kidney patients may have no choice but to turn to the mainland for transplants because of a shortage of donors in Hong Kong, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Leading surgeon Matthew Tong told the South China Morning Post that there were only 10 kidney transplants from living donors and another 20 from dead donors in Hong Kong last year.
There are about 1,500 patients on the waiting list, and the average waiting time is six to seven years. Dr Tong said he recently performed a transplant on a patient who had waited for 20 years.
Organ trading is illegal in Hong Kong.
'You can get a new kidney on the mainland for HK$20,000 (S$3,500) to HK$30,000,' he told the Post. But he pointed out that organs could have been harvested from executed prisoners without their consent.
Singapore is also facing a shortage of organ donors. Last month, the Government said it would consider compensating organ donors to help meet the demand.