Opinion
More Care for ALS Patients
  ·  2017-10-23  ·   Source: NO. 43 OCTOBER 26, 2017

Lou Tao, a doctoral candidate at Peking University, has been paralyzed from partially to totally since she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in last January. As the incurable disease gradually takes over her body, Lou has decided to donate her organs after death. On October 9, Lou's mother finished the organ donation registration at a hospital in Wuhan for the daughter who had lost consciousness.  

Donating one's organs is a way to extend others' lives. In China, the donating rate had rose from 0.03 per million people in 2010 to 2.98 in 2016. However, the rate still falls far behind the actual demand for human organs. Lou's organ donation undoubtedly delivers a positive message to society. Meanwhile, Lou herself is now also a beneficiary of the whole nation's care and love. The public has donated over 1 million yuan for her medical expenses. 

Lou's action not only inspires people to be more generous in organ donation, but also brings more attention to the ALS patients and the plight they are suffering. To most people, ALS is a strange but fatal disease. About 90 percent of patients of the disease would die within five years after the symptoms appear.  

The government and society should take measures to help ALS patients, such as researching affordable medicines and improving hospice care for them. Maybe medical science can't cure the disease now, but love can relieve their pains.  

(This is an edited excerpt of an article published in China Youth Daily October 16)

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