Organ Donation Day 2025 promotional event held today to encourage public to register as organ donors (with photos)
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Officiating and delivering a speech at the event, the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, "Despite the rapid advancement in medical technology nowadays, for some patients with organ failure, organ transplant remains the only hope to live on. Due to limited supply from donations of transplantable organs, many patients are struggling to battle their diseases every day, with some of them having passed away while waiting for suitable organs. Therefore, I appeal to members of the public to actively support organ donation by registering your wishes in the Centralised Organ Donation Register (CODR) now and informing your family members. This is crucial in shortening patients' waiting time for organ transplants. Your decision can bring hopes for a new lease of life to patients waiting for organ transplant and their families."
Other officiating guests included the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Acting Deputy Director of Broadcasting, Mr Vincent Lee; and the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Libby Lee. Representatives from various organisations actively promoting organ donation also attended the event to support Organ Donation Day.
At the event, two organ transplant recipients who won awards at the 25th World Transplant Games in August this year shared their unforgettable experiences at the games. Their stories enabled the audience to witness not only their joy but also their perseverance in honouring the donors' generous spirit through hard-earned medals. Organ Donation Day 2025 ambassadors Ms Michelle Wai and Mr Cheung Siu-lun also voiced their support for organ donation to more than 200 attendees.
Besides sharing sessions, multiple organ transplant recipients teamed up with event hosts, university students and artistes in two groups to compete in three matches of pickleball, bowling and rhythmic fitness to showcase their skills. This allowed the public to witness how organ donation transforms recipients' lives, enabling them to restore their precious health and empowering them to continue contributing to society.
The Government has been working closely with community partners to promote organ donation and raise public awareness. Since its launch in 2016, more than 600 enterprises, organisations and schools have joined the Organ Donation Promotion Charter. In 2023, the CODR system was enhanced to facilitate the public to conveniently register or check their registration status via the "iAM Smart" mobile application, enhancing efficiency in identity authentication. This year, the DH has set up over 2 000 promotional booths across 18 districts in government or statutory bodies' buildings, exhibitions, educational institutions, hospitals, District Health Centres, and other venues, and organised 10 health talks and train-the-trainer workshops. With ongoing publicity and promotional efforts through a multi-pronged approach, the number of registrations in the CODR has been steadily increasing in recent years, reaching a record-high of over 410 000.
In Hong Kong, more than 2 000 patients and their families are still waiting in despair. The DH rolled out a new round of organ donation promotional campaign last month. From October 23 to December 3, the Organ Donation Promotion Vehicle will travel to various districts in Hong Kong, to remind the public of the "3Ss" motto of organ donation: to register their wishes in the CODR (Sign up), inform family members (Speak out), and advocate for organ donation among relatives and friends (Spread out). Members of the public can register for organ donation at the spot. Details of vehicle parking locations are available on the thematic website (www.organdonation.gov.hk/en/promotional_activities.html). Members of the public may also register through the CODR website (www.codr.gov.hk), or mail/fax application forms to the CODR Office. In future, the DH will continue to engage stakeholders to regularly review, co-ordinate and implement publicity and education initiatives on organ donation.
For more information on organ donation, please visit the thematic website (www.organdonation.gov.hk), or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/organdonationhk) and Instagram page (www.instagram.com/organdonationhk) of Organ Donation at HK.
Ends/Saturday, November 8, 2025
Issued at HKT 16:20
Issued at HKT 16:20
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