More Care for ALS Patients

China Youth Daily October 16

Lou Tao, a doctoral candidate at Peking University, has suffered progressive paralysis since she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last January. As the incurable disease gradually took over her body, Lou decided to donate her brain to medical research after death. On October 9, Lou’s mother finished the organ donation registration at a hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province, for her daughter.

Donating one’s organs is a way to extend others’ lives. In China, the donating rate rose from 0.03 per million people in 2010 to 2.98 in 2016. However, the rate still falls far behind actual demand for human organs. Lou’s donation undoubtedly delivers a positive message to society. Meanwhile, Lou herself has benefited from the whole nation’s care and love, as the public has donated over 1 million yuan ($151,000) for her medical expenses.

Lou’s action not only inspires people to be more generous in organ donation, but also brings more attention to ALS patients and the plight they suffer. To most people, ALS is a strange but fatal disease. About 90 percent of those who contract the disease 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 yet, but love can relieve the pain.