Organ donations in China increased 50 percent year on year, according to the figures released by the health authority on Sunday.

A total of 2,950 organs was processed by China in the first nine months of this year. The figure surpasses the figure in 2015 at 2,766, the National Health and Family Planning Commission reported.

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Currently, China stands first in the annual average number of organ donations in Asia and third around the world, state-backed Xinhua news agency reported.     

China began changing its organ donation system in 2010. A year after, it made the unauthorized trading of organs illegal through amending he Criminal Law. Furthermore, in 2013, a new organ management and distribution system was launch to regulate donations, according to Global Times.

Ye Qifa, a member of China's National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee, said the surge of voluntary organ donations shows that the public has gained more confidence in the distribution of donated organs.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, traditional beliefs and other misconceptions about organ donation procedures were top reasons for low donation rate, South China Morning Post reported citing a study conducted by the Department of Health in 2015. Some refuse as they want a "dignified" funeral, while other express worry it might be opposed by older family members.

Organ donation rate in Hong Kong is relatively low, with only 5.8 donors for every one million residents in 2015, a slight decrease from 6.1 in 2013.

Hong Kong's Food and Health Bureau, on the other hand, has initiated a series of campaigns to promote organ donation awareness. Earlier this year, it organized a promotion committee after many high-profile organ donation appeals in 2015.

The government also developed a Facebook app where organ donors could register and spread awareness of the life-saving initiative to friends. It also plans to initiate a study to determine the public's views on a presumptive consent scheme or an opt-out system, which makes everyone a valid donor unless they specifically chose not to.

Tagsorgan donations, organ donations China, organ donors, National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee