BEIJING - A Ministry of Health spokesman said Wednesday that a national database to record and distribute human organ donations will be established.

The ministry has already drafted an organ distribution regulation, spokesman Deng Haihua said, adding that the regulation must pass a trial phase first.

A network for organ donations and transplants will be formed by 164 qualified hospitals nationwide.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that about 1.5 million people in China need organ transplants, although only some 10,000 transplants are performed annually.

Medical experts have long urged the establishment of a transparent system for organ donation and distribution in order to boost the number of organ donors.