Media

HKU conducts a survey of public opinion on body donation in Hong Kong Over 50% of people are willing to donate

03 Mar 2015

In order to understand the public opinion on body donation, Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has conducted a phone survey through HKU Public Opinion Programme (POP) in August, 2014.  51% of Hong Kong residents, over age 18, who had heard of body donation were willing to donate their bodies after death.

Chief investigator of the study, Dr Chan Lap-ki, Associate Professor of Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education and Department of Anatomy, comments, “this survey has demonstrated that Body Donation is widely known by the Hong Kong society, and Hong Kong people is altruistic.”

Study Method

The questionnaire was developed at HKU, and the HKU POP was commissioned to carry out the survey.  Territory-wide random telephone interviews were carried out.  A total of 638 adult Hong Kong residents, over age 18 who can speak Cantonese, Mandarin or English, completed the survey in August 6-27, 2014.

Study Findings

The survey reached 807 adult Hong Kong residents successfully and 638 of them completed the survey.  Among all the subjects, 84% (681/807) had heard of Body Donation and 51% (348/681) of those who have heard of Body Donation were willing to donate their bodies after death.  Dr Chan Lap-ki also comments, “this survey result shows that HK people is very positive with Body Donation, it is very encouraging!  Although Death and human body dissection are still taboos in Asian culture, but we can still see that many HK people are willing to donate body in order to help medical education and research, and they also want to contribute to the world even after death.”  He also found some factors correlated with one’s willingness to donate one’s body, including younger age, single marital status, not having dependents, dissection experience and willingness to donate organ.  HKU Body Donation Programme will continue to address the concerns of how donated bodies will be treated with respect.

About “Great Body Teacher”, Body Donation Programme, HKU

The Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU started to accept body donation from the 1970s.  In recent years, the demand for human bodies for medical education and research has soared.  The Department has thus emphasised and promoted the Body Donation Programme to encourage more people to donate their bodies after they pass away for the purposes of medical education and research.

For enquiries on the Programme, please contact 3917 6334 or visit the websites below:
http://www.med.hku.hk/bdp/ or https://www.facebook.com/HKUBodyDonationProgramme.

Please visit the website at http://www.med.hku.hk/v1/news-and-events/press-releases for press photos and the powerpoint presentation.

Professor George Tsao Sai-wah (Left 1), Professor and Head of Department of Anatomy, and Dr Chan Lap-ki (Right 1), Associate Professor of Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU took a group photo with the medical students, Wong King-nam Edmond (Left 2), Lau Pui-hang Belle (Middle) and Chan Shuk-ling Cathy (Right 2), after the press conference.

Professor George Tsao Sai-wah (Left), Professor and Head of Department of Anatomy, and Dr Chan Lap-ki (Right), Associate Professor of Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU say that HKU Body Donation Programme will continue to address the concerns of how donated bodies will be treated with respect.

Dr Chan Lap-ki (Right), Associate Professor of Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medical and Health Sciences Education, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, HKU comments that the survey shows that many HK people are willing to donate body in order to help medical education and research, and they also want to contribute to the world even after death, which is very encouraging.