（Photo/Xinhua)

China recorded 6,302 voluntary organ donations in 2018, ranking second in the world, according to the latest Report on Organ Transplantation Development in China.

From January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018, a total of 18,294 cases of voluntary organ donation were completed. The organ donation rate per million rose from 2.01 in 2015 to 4.53 in 2018, the report compiled by the China Organ Transplantation Development Foundation indicates.

Not only has the number of donations increased rapidly, but the quality of transplants has also improved, primarily through transshipment.

To shorten the transfer time of donated human organs and reduce the impact of the transfer process on the quality and safety of organ transplantation, a green channel was established three years ago.

Since then, the transfer time of organs has been shortened by an average of 1 to 1.5 hours; the overall sharing rate of organs in China has increased by 7.3 percent, and the utilization rate of organs has risen by 6.7 percent.

The postoperative survival rate has also improved in China. "The survival rate after heart and kidney transplantation is among the highest in the world," said Guo Yanhong, inspector of the National Health Commission, adding that China's cumulative survival rate of recipients after living-liver transplantation is also at an internationally advanced level.

Meanwhile, many innovative techniques of organ transplantation began to emerge in China, such as autologous liver transplantation, single-center children liver transplantation and heart transplantation clinical services.

China has made great efforts in promoting the healthy development of organ transplants, said Bjorn Nashan, former president of the German Organ Transplantation Society.