英闻天下——481 Shortage of Body Donors in China

 　　In Beijing Changqingyuan cemetery¹, there is a special monument engraved² with more than 1,000 names. Groups of medical teachers and students were there to pay their respects to "the silent teachers", people who have donated their bodies to medical research.

 

　　Zhangyuan Mingfei, a student from the medical department of Beijing University, says:

 

　　"What we have learned from the 'silent teachers' can help us to cure more patients. It's the legacy³ that they have left in the world."

 

　　Inspired by these selfless people, medical student Wang Xu says he also want to donate his body to science to help others.

 

　　"As a medical student, I hope I can do the same thing to sacrifice myself and save more people."

 

　　According to the Beijing Red Cross, since starting the body donation registry in 1999, more than 15-thousand Beijing residents have registered to donate their bodies after they pass away, and 7,933 people have had their requests notarized. Only 1,407 people have completed donations. In 2012, 177 people in Beijing donated their bodies to medical science.

 

　　Wang Wei, head of the Body Donation Center at the Capital University of Medical Sciences, says that there is still a shortage of donors⁵.

 

　　"According to the teaching guidance, it's appropriate that four students can learn from one body. Now we are desperately⁶ in need of more. We have to arrange 10 or more students to learn from one body."

 

　　Zhang Xinyu, a medical student at the medical department of Peking University, says donated bodies are very helpful for their studies.

 

　　"The more bodies we see, the more human structure we can learn. It will help us a lot when we perform surgeries in the future."

 

　　Despite the growing willingness of people to donate their bodies after they die, many Chinese still cling to the traditional practice of ground burials and are against the idea of donating one's body to medical science. Many consider it disrespectful to the deceased.

 

　　What's worse, the complex procedure is another barrier for people who want to donate their bodies after they pass away. The donor⁴ has to get a family member to sign the donation application and have it notarized before the application is valid⁷. But still the donation centers cannot get a body if the family members change their minds after the donor's death.

 

　　Lv Shijie, Deputy Director of Beijing Red Cross, says legislation is needed regarding body donations.

 

　　"Now we only have a regulation made in 1999, according to which body donation procedures are very complex. But if we have a law, we only need the agreement of the donors."

 

　　Lv says the government is taking measures to do surveys and research. A law regarding body donations will be issued in the near future.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Wang Xiao.

1 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

2 engraved   

v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• The silver cup was engraved with his name. 银杯上刻有他的名字。
• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back. 此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

7 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？