Hong Kong leader condemns unusual uptick in registration withdrawals from organ donation system

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is condemning an unusual rise in the number of withdrawal requests to the city’s organ donation system, saying police will investigate suspicious cases. The government has been looking into setting up an organ transplant mutual assistance program with mainland China. According to the government, the city’s centralized organ donation registration system received 5,800 withdrawal applications between December and April. More than half of them were found to be invalid. Under an opt-in system,  Hong Kong currently has more than 357,000 registrants. Some Hong Kongers distrust China’s health system, and others distrust Beijing, which has cracked down on the city’s pro-democracy movement with a sweeping national security law.