People signed up as organ donors at a registration event held at Giac Ngo Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on December 23 (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - More than 300people signed up as organ donors at a registration event held at Giac NgoPagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on December 23.
The event was organised by the VietnamNational Coordinating Centre for Human Organ Transplantation under the Ministryof Health and the Buddhism Today Foundation (BTF).
Trinh Hong Son, director of the centre, saidthere are some 16,000 patients in Vietnam in need of organs and 300,000 in needof corneas.
He said the centre is working with agenciesto raise public awareness of the necessity of organ donation for scientificresearch and to save lives.
Venerable Thich Nhat Tu, head of the GiacNgo Pagoda who is also chairman of the BTF, said the fund and the centre has heldthe event six times, with more than 2,000 people registered.
In 2018 alone, the number of donors, whichincluded monks, Buddhists followers and people from all walks of life, wasrecorded at 1,000 after two registration events. Some families saw three orfour members registering at the same time.
Cao Thi Le Hang, who heard about the eventfrom other Buddhist followers, travelled from the southern province of Ba Ria –Vung Tau to the city to register.
“My parents not only support me but alsowant to join me. Due to poor health, they can’t travel this time and willregister at the next event,” she said.-VNA
VNA
