'Voluntary' Organ Donation  [By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

Cyclosporine. That's the name of the drug that helps control the rejection of a foreign human organ in a patient's body. The inception of the drug revolutionized the possibilities in organ transplantation. So much so that in 1984, China passed a regulation permitting the organ donation of executed prisoners. However, as is often the case, the furious technological advancements tied to organ transplantation have clashed with traditional values.

Chinese drivers' licenses will soon include an organ donation clause, by which drivers will be able to indicate whether or not they agree to donate their organs in the event of their death. The move is one of the latest attempts on the government's part to face the immense disparity between the supply and demand of organs in China. According to official statistics, the country has over 1.5 million people needing an organ transplant every year, with only 10,000 of them receiving one.

The move has however faced sharp criticism and reticence amongst the Chinese population, with people accusing such an initiative, openly mentioning their possible death, of only inviting bad luck. Others lambasted authorities for wishing to duplicate what were essentially Western procedures; adding Chinese cultural values were not compatible with such practices.

In order to understand why the move has met such opposition in China, one must look back in history to the teachings of Confucius. Amongst his numerous sagacious instructions, one dictated that one's body was handed down by one's parents, and that one's primary duty in showing deference and respect to one's parents was performed by not damaging what they had given (身體發膚,受之父母,不敢毀傷,孝之始也).