Over 7.3 million people recorded as registered organ donation volunteers in China

As of Dec 31, 2025, China has recorded over 63,000 organ donation cases nationwide, involving more than 197,000 donated organs, which have successfully saved the lives of over 190,000 recipients, according to the latest data obtained by the Global Times from the China Organ Donation Administrative Center on Monday.

Zhang Zongwei, deputy director of the China Organ Donation Administrative Center, told reporters that by Dec 31, 2025, the total number of registered organ donation volunteers in China had exceeded 7.3 million.

Zhang noted that among posthumous organ donors in China, 19 percent were women and 81 percent were men. The highest proportion of donors-40.2 percent-were aged between 46 and 60 years old.

Additionally, in 2025, more than 40 new memorial sites for organ donors were established in cities at the county level and above, bringing the total number of such memorial sites nationwide to 316.

Organ donation is a noble undertaking that reflects the progress of social civilization. Since China launched pilot programs in 2010, organ donation has developed from nonexistence into a well-established system over the past 15 years. The system has been continuously refined, with both the quantity and quality of organ donation and transplantation steadily improving. Post-transplant survival rates have reached world-leading levels, contributing Chinese wisdom to the global development of organ donation and transplantation, Zhang stated.

Representatives from the organ donation management center shared several stories of recipients and donor families experiencing a "second life" at a media briefing on Monday.

Lu Qile was a cheerful teenager who loved singing, running, and traveling. During the National Day holiday in 2025, Lu traveled to Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, where he was tragically involved in a traffic accident. Despite all efforts to save him, he was eventually declared brain-dead by a medical panel. Amid their grief, Lu's parents made the decision to donate his organs. "He loved Xiamen the most, and his corneas remain there."

Lu's organ donation, including heart, liver, lungs, two kidneys and corneas, gave five critically ill patients a new chance at life and restored sight to two individuals suffering from blindness.

As a way to support the organ donation development, Dingxi in Northwest China's Gansu province and Shanwei in South China's Guangdong province have successively introduced regulations recently that classify human organ donation as an act of "heroism." Over the past two years, many regions across the country have implemented similar measures, the Global Times report learnt from the center.