At least 2,000 people are waiting for kidney transplants in Hong Kong, with organ donors in short supply.

The Hospital Authority said on Monday the organ donation rate in Hong Kong is only 4.2 per million much lower than in developed countries such as Britain, Spain and the United States.

It said the main reason is that the families of the deceased more often than not object to hospital requests to use their loved ones' organs for saving other patients.

In cases where patients die before they can sign a donor agreement, hospitals are left with no choice but to seek permission from their families.

The Hospital Authority said there were 362 organ or tissue donations last year, and 296 this year as at the end of September.

Hong Kong Headline Daily