Beijing - China isn't ready to adopt a system that would urge citizens to agree while applying for a driver's license to give away their own organs if they should die in a car crash, a senior health official has said.

Deng Haihua, spokesman with the Ministry of Health, made the remarks at a regular press conference on Tuesday in response to reports saying China might adopt such a system to encourage voluntary organ donations. Media reports had previously quoted Huang Jiefu, vice-minister of health, as saying China will soon adopt the practice, which is now used in many other countries.

The need for such a system in China is evident to many. A severe shortage in organs means that fewer than one in a hundred patients who need a transplant here can get one, according to official statistics.