TIANJIN - China's northern port city of Tianjin passed a regulation on organ donation on Monday, a move to standardize and encourage public organ donations.

It is China's first local regulation on organ donation, said Gao Shaolin, director of the legislative affairs committee of the Tianjin?Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee.

The Tianjin Human Organ Donation Regulation, which was passed at the 37th session of the 15th Tianjin Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee, will be effective from March 1, 2013, Gao said Tuesday.

Those who want to donate their organs after they die can submit a written application and register at the Red Cross Society of China Tianjin Branch and its district and county auxiliaries, according to the regulation.

The registration can be modified or revoked, it said.

The donor's immediate relatives will be given priority if they require an organ transplant. Civil affairs authorities will exempt donors from basic funeral expenses, it said.

The Red Cross Society of China Tianjin Branch will set up a special fund to assist donors with financial difficulties.

China bans organ donations from living donors, except for close family members such as spouses and blood relatives.

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