Chinese transplant surgeons will soon be able to harvest organs from brain dead patients more easily. The Vice Minister of Health, Huang Jiefu, an Australia-trained liver transplant specialist who is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that new rules would “play a role in lowering the country’s medical bill”. In the past, Chinese traditions have hampered the acceptance of brain death. Dr Huang says that the dominant view has always been that “life goes on until the last breath and until the heart stops beating”. But this means that organs will often be irreparably damaged. He expects an increase in the number of donors after the new standard is adopted. However he does not expect that a new law will be passed to give complete clarity for surgeons and patients. ~ China Daily, Mar 8