Cut cross-border red tape in matters that involve life and death
An improved prognosis for a young patient is not the only reason to welcome the recent transfer of umbilical cord blood from mainland China to Hong Kong. Such arrangements are still quite rare. The fact the matter was handled efficiently raises hopes for more lifesaving collaboration such as with organ transplants. The cord blood was transferred from Guangdong province to help a five-year-old girl who suffers from the inherited blood disorder thalassaemia. Doctors treating the girl at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital said tests and other preparations are being done so the blood can be used for a stem cell transplant as soon as October.
Thalassaemia is a blood disorder that can be passed down from one or both parents. It causes the body to produce abnormally low amounts of haemoglobin – the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Patients can suffer anaemia and fatigue and more severe cases need regular blood transfusions. Stem cell transplants offer a cure.
The sample came from the girl’s four-year-old brother and was stored at a blood bank in Guangdong because he was born in the province. The transfer was the city’s second transport of cord blood from Guangdong. The first was in 2018 to help another young patient with the same illness.
Hospital officials and Hong Kong’s health chief Lo Chung-mau thanked mainland authorities for their support, saying it reflected the close relationship between Hong Kong and Guangdong.
Lo said the bureau hoped the procedure requiring the filing of an application with mainland authorities could be dropped. Under current protocols, each cross-boundary organ transplant case must await approval.
Dr Daniel Cheuk Ka-leung, consultant of the hospital’s department of paediatrics and adolescent medicine, said the hospital usually searched for cord blood on a local database maintained by the Hong Kong Red Cross. They pursued a cross-border transfer since sibling donors were preferred.
Such life-changing outcomes also are possible with transplants. In December 2022, baby Cleo Lai Tsz-hei was the first patient to undergo a heart transplant in Hong Kong with an organ from the mainland. The operation prompted authorities to establish a cross-border donation and matching mechanism. There is a need to regularise cross-border donations for cases with no local matches.
The importance of maintaining standards and ensuring safety are understandable reasons for not rushing ahead. But the recent success stories should encourage authorities on both sides of the border to keep working to cut red tape as much as possible.