The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong in 2003 and the more recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have impacted many people’s lives. Few people, however, have had their careers so profoundly transformed by these events as Dr Emily Chi-wan Hung.

After graduating from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2000, Dr Hung initially pursued specialty training in paediatrics, as she believed in managing diseases in early life and making a lasting impact on patients’ lives.

However, during the SARS outbreak in 2003, Dr Hung’s career took its first major change in course. While studying for an undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, Dr Hung had completed a year of training in pathology and virology, with special research focus on human papillomavirus. Because of this background in virology, Dr Hung felt that she could contribute to the effort against SARS, and joined the SARS molecular sequencing team at CUHK. This opportunity led to her to join academia after the completion of her specialist training in paediatrics, and she spent several years researching serum circulatory DNA until she returned to clinical practice as a paediatrician in 2010.

Giving back to the community Dr Hung firmly believes in the importance of giving back to society, and throughout her clinical career, she has maintained passion and commitment to such contributions. A major focus of Dr Hung’s charitable efforts has been the Little Life Warrior Society (https://www.llws.org.hk/). The Little Life Warrior Society organises various activities and support groups for paediatric oncology patients and their families, including in-patient ward visits, out-patient activity groups, schoolwork tutorials, and even haircuts for patients. “After my rotation to the Children’s Cancer Centre of the Prince of Wales Hospital Department of Paediatrics in 2004,” recalls Dr Hung, “I was saddened by the unpredictable disease course of childhood cancers, and the devastating effect it had on young patients and their families.” Dr Hung became a medical advisor for the Little Life Warrior Society in 2004, and participated in various activities, including its Youth Group, which supported children cancer survivors who have grown up to become teenagers. She served as a medical advisor for the Society from 2004 to 2012.

As a paediatrician, Dr Hung is a firm believer in disease prevention. In 2016-17, the overall influenza vaccination coverage rate for school children aged 6 to 12 years was only 16%, whereas school-initiated outreach vaccination activities achieved a coverage of about 50%. Therefore, the Department of Health established the School Outreach Vaccination Pilot Programme and the Enhanced Vaccination Subsidy Scheme in 2018-19 to further increase participation of schools. Dr Hung participated in these schemes and has run outreach influenza vaccination events at different primary schools and kindergartens in the past few years. “The outreach events are important to me because they are instrumental in increasing flu vaccine coverage in children,” says Dr Hung, “This helps to minimise outbreaks, severe complications, and deaths due to influenza in children.”

In addition to her busy clinical work and charitable contributions, Dr Hung also strives to promote medical development in Hong Kong. In order to nurture the younger generation, she holds teaching sessions in her clinic for medical students at CUHK, and she works as a regional trainer for neonatal resuscitation. She is currently an honorary clinical associate professor of her alma mater. In 2015, Dr Hung was selected for the Ten Outstanding Young Persons award in Hong Kong in recognition of her exemplary contributions to medical education and healthcare promotion in Hong Kong. “It was a very humbling and rewarding experience to be selected for this award,” said Dr Hung.

Similar to the SARS epidemic in 2003, COVID-19 brought about another major career change for Dr Hung. She is once again at the forefront of battling the pandemic, but this time she has adopted her innovation and skills into a new venture. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a sudden surge in demand for surgical masks. In the early days of the outbreak, mask shortages were causing panic in Hong Kong. While procuring masks for her outreach vaccination programmes in January 2020, Dr Hung found that many companies were unable to provide masks or even shipment dates for deliveries. In order to help meet this demand, Dr Hung decided to develop a surgical mask manufacturing and production line in Hong Kong with her husband, who has a background in engineering. Throughout the endeavour, Dr Hung and her husband had to overcome many challenges. Owing to worldwide demand for the raw materials needed for mask production, supplier delays were frequent, and some suppliers even raised their prices to increase profits. Setting up a clean room for mask production also proved difficult, requiring high-quality renovation work and revisions to meet international standards. There was even trouble sourcing qualified technical support staff, owing to the travel restrictions at the time, so Dr Hung’s team had to self-study to get the mask production machine up and running. Despite the challenges, the mask production line finally began operation in July 2020. In addition to supplying masks to public hospitals, Dr Hung’s company partnered with philanthropists in Hong Kong to donate masks to charitable organisations including The Salvation Army, St James’ Settlement, and Refugee Union. Dr Hung is adamant that quality must be maintained over quantity, and takes pride in providing high-quality masks for medical professionals and the public.

When asked about her future goals, Dr Hung reiterated the importance of altruism: “We have to do the right thing to change the world and make it a better place.”

Dr Susan Fan served The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong as executive director for 25 years, until her retirement in early 2021. We recently sat down with Dr Fan as she reflected on the evolving role of the organisation in her years of service. “The deferral in marriages and fertility decline in Hong Kong has required diversification of our services,” said Dr Fan, “but our mission has always been to advocate planned parenthood and sexual health.”

Established in 1950, the Association began its work as a charitable voluntary organisation via individual contacts in its early days. “Our volunteer doctors and nurses were pioneers in promoting birth control amid the traditional beliefs of expanding the family lineage,” said Dr Fan. Their efforts were later much amplified by the organisation’s successful “Two Is Enough” campaign in the 1970s. That decade also saw the gradual incorporation of the Association’s 32 birth control clinics into the Department of Health’s Maternal and Child Health Centres. Although the Association is best known for its contraceptive and abortion services, the Association’s very first clinic, established in 1956, also specialised in investigation and management of subfertility. “We did not tell people to simply avoid getting pregnant; we advised couples to plan their childbearing early and wisely. The same can be said today, as we see an upturn in demand for fertility treatment due to advanced parental age,” explained Dr Fan.

The Association’s scope differs from the conventional obstetrics and gynaecology specialty in that its services transcend genders and age-groups. The Association ran the only semen bank in Hong Kong before other technologies were developed for treating male factors in infertility. The organisation also runs a men’s health clinic and supports the exploration of sexuality in youth and LGBTQ communities with school-based education and a mobile classroom. Because sexual activity is still a relatively taboo topic in Chinese culture, discussions on youth sexuality must be conducted with sensitivity. “Pre-marital sex is often misconstrued as being synonymous with ‘promiscuity’. We had to work around prevalent social norms by calling sex education ‘family life education’, and using subtle language in educational television in order to introduce issues of sexual identity and orientation.“ Yet the Association also benefits from Hong Kong’s unique cultural milieu, as Dr Fan explained “Our community is very pragmatic. Unlike some countries and cultures where abortion remains highly divisive, our organisation has not faced outright opposition from conservative or religious sectors.”

When Dr Fan joined the Association in the 1990s, the issue of population ageing was gaining attention. In response, the Association began to introduce services for older members of society, such as opening the first menopause clinic in Hong Kong, offering hormone replacement therapy, and commencing an osteoporosis clinic for women and men. Through these health services, the Association aimed to prevent and reduce age-related conditions while enhancing the quality of life of Hong Kong’s ageing population.

Dr Fan stated that sexual health is an issue common to everyone in society, regardless of their background. She stressed that the Association’s services are entirely confidential and professional, and staff are not there to chastise or discipline people. Under Dr Fan’s leadership, the Association actively reached out to certain groups that are often overlooked; for example, male sexual and reproductive health is often neglected. In the past, men were simply advised to use condoms or get vasectomies. However, the Association not only emphasises the male role and responsibility in family planning, but also provides sexual health services for men including management of sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, or premature ejaculation. To minimise patient embarrassment or reluctance, these services are usually delivered by male doctors, nurses and counsellors.

The Association also extended services to other under-served members of society, marginalised groups, and ethnic minorities. Despite the best intentions, these are not always successful, as Dr Fan illustrated by recounting efforts to run a mobile clinic for foreign domestic helpers, in public areas where helpers gather on Sundays. It turned out that parking the mobile van in an open public space was counterproductive, as helpers feared being noticed and stigmatised for visiting it. There have also been successes; the Association was entrusted to roll out a programme to provide free or subsidised human papillomavirus vaccines for more than 30 000 young girls from low-income families. Dr Fan reflected that there are always ways to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of these services, to dispel misconceptions and to reduce public hesitation to seek sexual health services, and to reach as many people as possible.

Youth sex education is another important focus for the Association. Dr Fan thanks the Hong Kong Jockey Club for their support in opening a Youth Zone for introducing sexual health to young people. The Association also runs three Youth Health Care Centres throughout the city. Dr Fan explained that the locations of these Centres in commercial buildings in busy districts were carefully selected so that they were readily accessible but also discreet. The Association<s dedication to empowering the youth is impressive; Dr Fan noted that 20% of their Council membership is comprised of youth representatives nominated from the Association<s youth volunteers by themselves. Furthermore, the Association<s longstanding efforts in sex education have contributed significantly at all levels of education in Hong Kong, nurturing a future generation that is more aware of their sexuality and sexual health.

Looking into the future, Dr Fan hopes that Hong Kong people, particularly young couples, will proactively plan their families earlier. She understands that factors such as the city’s demanding work culture and high living costs exacerbate people’s reluctance to have large families, but she hopes family planning will allow people to fulfil their dreams of parenthood, while avoiding problems caused by age-related effects on fertility. The Association offers pre-pregnancy check-ups, in which prospective parents can be screened for common hereditary conditions or to simply learn about preparing for childbearing. She also hopes to see more support for men playing a more active role in parenting.

Dr Fan looks back fondly on the past 25 years at the Association. She credits all her achievements to the incredible staff and the doctors who volunteer their time at the Association, without whom her ideas would simply be unattainable. She is also grateful to the government and many donors who have provided the Association with sufficient funding to allow it to provide affordable services to the Hong Kong population. “I found working with the Association immensely satisfying, and I sincerely hope my successor, Dr Mona Lam, will do so too”, remarked Dr Fan with a smile. The Association has tirelessly worked to improve the quality of life of families across Hong Kong, but Dr Fan acknowledges that challenges remain in social policy, community perception and cultural values, and notes that there is always room for improvement. The continued promotion of proper family planning and education in enhancing the overall sexual and reproductive health of all people in Hong Kong cannot be over-emphasised.

Dr Maggie Man-chow Yeung is a specialist in Paediatrics, the recipient of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Distinguished Medical Alumni Award (Humanitarian Service) 2019, and a long-time volunteer paediatrician at Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC).

When Dr Yeung was just 9 years old, she saw a photo of a bone thin boy from Ethiopia in the newspaper. Moved by the level of starvation and deprivation this boy suffered, the young Dr Yeung started dreaming about treating sick children when she grows up. She reminds us, ‘There are still many young children in impoverished parts of the world struggling to survive.’

Dr Yeung heard about the humanitarian services provided by HKRC. However, when she first inquired in 2002, Dr Yeung found out that the training programme was prioritising recruitment of surgeons and midwives at that time. Fortunately, recruitment of a broader spectrum of professions opened in 2007, enabling Dr Yeung to realise her childhood dream of treating sick children as a frontline doctor. Her journey began after taking a basic training course at HKRC and learning the necessary knowledge and skills to work in and operate a Health Emergency Response Unit. Emergency Response Units are made up of a team of trained personnel and sets of standardised equipment that are deployed in emergency situations to provide functions and services such as logistics, IT and telecommunications, water and sanitation, relief, and base camp. Dr Yeung has been volunteering since 2008 in many different environments, including places affected by natural disasters, such as Sichuan and the Philippines, or where people affected have escaped to, such as Jordan and Greece.

‘Flexibility is vitally important’ says Dr Yeung. Although this is taught in the training course, it is only understood when practising adaptability in the field. In most missions that Dr Yeung was engaged with, the purpose of the Health Emergency Response Unit was mostly to support clinical services that had been disrupted by disasters. Often, the traditional customs and practices of the local people may lead them to reject antibiotics and other treatments. These logistical issues and cultural beliefs unique to local communities can hinder the delivery of effective healthcare. This is where adaptability comes into play. Dr Yeung believes in respecting local customs while incorporating an appropriate portion of Western medicine into local situations. In Greece, she witnessed a patient with second- to third-degree burns who requested a witch doctor. ‘Miraculously, it worked, and we didn’t know why,’ recalls Dr Yeung. Many cultures and societies are naturally suspicious of “outsiders”. When such people feel that their local customs and practices are respected by the foreign humanitarian workers, they are more likely to trust in these foreigners and become more receptive to the services provided by the Emergency Response Unit in their community. There are bound to be limitations of Western medicine in these locations, especially with the occasional unavailability of equipment. It is therefore essential that humanitarian workers can adjust their mindset before every mission, and can exercise flexibility to meet the needs of their patients in various ethnic communities.

Among the many overseas humanitarian missions that Dr Yeung has been on, what has touched her most is the way displaced people value their family. Surviving in a disaster when personal safety is jeopardised and uncertainties prevail, Dr Yeung noticed that many displaced people place family ahead of their own health and wealth. On one occasion, Dr Yeung was taking care of a mother who had just given birth in a field hospital in Jordan a few hours before. This woman requested to return to the camp so that she could be with her family. Recovering from the pain of delivery seemed less imminent than being with her loved ones. These anecdotes were not rare among displaced people. None of them knew what might come next—more damage and destruction, sudden injuries or deaths, but rarely the end of chaos. Staying close to family during times of such uncertainty and upheaval is a lesson Dr Yeung well learned.

Family provides a sense of emotional security and comfort that is necessary in building the determination to survive through difficult times and unpredictable missions. Even distance cannot separate family. Dr Yeung feels deeply that nothing is more powerful a driving force than support from her family. Before embarking on a mission, Dr Yeung always seeks support and approval from her family. On one occasion, after returning home from a particularly exhausting mission, she was greeted with a smile and the comment, ‘You smell!’ Dr Yeung read between the lines and knew that her family misses her and supports her no matter what.

The picture of the starving boy in Ethiopia has stuck with Dr Yeung in every one of her missions. It has motivated her not only to improve the physical condition of her patients, but also to let them know that someone cares about their existence and well-being. As a volunteer of the HKRC, Dr Yeung has been trained to work closely with members of the local medical communities so that clinic services initiated by humanitarian workers can continue even after they leave.

Through sharing her experiences in humanitarian work, Dr Yeung wants to prepare future medical volunteers for potential challenges and frustrations in the field. More importantly, she shows us that it is the heart that values human dignity and human life that enables frontline humanitarian workers to overcome obstacles in the field. Dr Yeung finds true meaning in her work by using the ability to heal to achieve humane outcomes for impoverished communities. As Hippocrates wrote, “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity.”

Organ transplantation is an age-old topic, with the first renal transplant reported in 1969. However, the rate of organ donation in Hong Kong is low: with only six donors per million population, Hong Kong lags behind many developed countries in this respect. For the past 40 years, Dr Ka-foon Chau, Head of Division of Nephrology at the Department of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong, has worked ceaselessly for her lifelong mission of organ transplantation. Dr Chau, also honorary president of Hong Kong Transplant Sports Association and a member of the Committee on Promotion of Organ Donation, gives us a chance to see behind the scenes of organ procurement and the limiting factors in Hong Kong.

Forty years ago, organ donation was not a popular concept. Dr Chau recounts a tearful story that sparked her lifelong mission. While she was still a junior doctor, resources were so limited that patients who were unmarried or without children were denied dialysis. Among those denied treatment, some women committed suicide because they could not work or have children, and were incessantly rebuked by their in-laws. There were also young men who were in chronic pain. Dr Chau covertly helped to give peritoneal dialysis to one of these young men who was only in his twenties. After some time, his abdomen was so scarred she could not find a clear space to insert another needle. She spent the last few hours of his life by his side. Dr Chau remembers that he never had a word of complaint, although he was in so much pain. She thought at that time that a kidney would have eased his suffering.

Dr Chau thus plunged headfirst into organ donation. She joined training workshops and liaised with the Hospital Authority and the Hong Kong Government about the topic. She also led her nephrology team into proactive organ procurement. Nonetheless, while organ donation has evolved to become a more commonly discussed topic, there remains a gap between theoretical understanding and concrete practice. In 2008, Dr Chau inaugurated the Hong Kong Transplant Sports Association, with a vision to improve rehabilitation after transplant surgery, to acknowledge the families of organ donors, and to raise awareness of organ donation in society.

She led the first team of transplant patients from Hong Kong to the biennial World Transplant Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Since then, the popularity of the Games has flourished in Hong Kong and internationally. Competitors from Hong Kong have won medals in the Games, and have participated in a wide variety of regional and international championships. For patients, the Games are a strong incentive to exercise, paving the way to better rehabilitation; for donors and their families, the Games provide acknowledgement for their altruistic contributions with vivid, breathing examples. In 2012, Dr Chau coordinated the Hong Kong Transplant and Dialysis Games. This local addition gives more incentive to rehabilitate, and allows for greater connection between transplant recipients and donor families, whose participation is also welcomed. The Games is a powerful testimony to those involved in organ donation, showing the world the life-giving impact that organ donation can make. Perhaps most importantly, the Games reorients any misconceptions and reasserts that transplant patients can achieve many things.

“If I don’t give up, why should you give up?” After retirement, Dr Chau is still an unfalteringly passionate advocate of organ donation. Despite years of hard work, the organ donation rate in Hong Kong still remains low. Transplant medicine not only necessitates the transplant itself, but a multidisciplinary approach ranging from psychological support for donor families to hospital management for efficient organ procurement and policy making for better delegation of resources. The limited availability of intensive care unit beds, lack of organisation in organ procurement, unsupportive government bodies, and the conservative local culture are still major barriers to organ donation.

There have been times when Dr Chau has felt helpless, and she cheerfully accounts her unyielding passion to the like-minded friends who gave her a pat on the shoulder and cheered her on. This seems to be her outlook of life: we are all here to help each other out.

The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic casts a lot of uncertainty and challenges on the healthcare system, yet Dr Chau is not staying idle. She is now preparing her first broadcast on RTHK, titled: “The ‘New’ Breakthrough of Transplants”, which will be aired between July and September 2020. Please tune in to her broadcast!

Dr Chau’s enthusiasm in her work inspires us to strive for better care for our patients. “No matter what your calling is—it does not have to be in organ transplant—if it is a good and noble cause, go for it wholeheartedly, and you will be working directly or indirectly for organ transplantation too.” We can all play a role in this movement by signing up ourselves, sharing with family members, or even volunteering at the Transplant Games. There is always something we can do to improve our patients’ care.

Find out more about organ donation and sign up as an organ donor at: https://www.organdonation.gov.hk/eng/home.html

Tune into “The New Breakthrough of Transplants” airing 6 July to September 2020 at RTHK

Details of the World Transplant Games Federation can be found at: https://wtgf.org/

The beeps of the machines that monitor patients and the motions of the team of healthcare providers tending to the patients combine to form the intense and action-packed atmosphere of the accident and emergency department that Dr Axel Siu revels in. As an emergency medicine specialist in Ruttonjee Hospital, Hong Kong, this is where his passion lies—a place where every second matters and every decision can mean life or death. But his passion doesn’t stop at the entrance to the accident and emergency ward, it extends through the clinical and administrative work of revising resuscitation guidelines, and beyond, into the public where his involvement in educating the public on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has had far-reaching effects.

After graduating from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1992, Dr Siu spent his time as a junior medical officer at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and this sparked his passion for emergency medicine. He relished the constant challenge of having to make a diagnosis with few investigations and within a limited time frame. His increasing ability to arrive at a timely diagnosis made his newfound passion incredibly rewarding. The fact that his work made a substantial difference to his patients’ condition and recovery made it all the more fulfilling.

When asked about his most memorable patient, Dr Siu avidly recounts the time when a young man came into the accident and emergency department with back pain. Initially it had appeared to be a simple musculoskeletal case, but Dr Siu detected a subtle abnormality and ordered a computed tomography scan. As he suspected, the scan revealed an aortic dissection! Dr Siu reflects that it is events like this that make him grateful for the passion he has developed for emergency medicine, and the ability to make a difference to patients’ lives when they first arrive at the hospital.

As the years progressed, Dr Siu not only wholeheartedly fulfilled his clinical duties, but also took up administrative positions in various organisations. In 2008, he became a council member of the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine and was elected as President in 2017. During his time in the council, Dr Siu has seen numerous advancements in his specialty, including the development of point-of-care ultrasound for identifying small pneumothoraxes and other conditions. Dr Siu has also been involved in establishing the concept of advanced life support in Hong Kong, with its extension to Macau. He has even been supporting the development of emergency medicine in Myanmar.

During his precious free time, Dr Siu is an avid sportsman with a love for running and hiking. He integrated this hobby and his profession by developing the field of Wilderness Medicine in Hong Kong. After attending training sessions in the United States, he took it upon himself to establish workshops in Hong Kong. Initially this was to educate fellow colleagues, but in one mid-term break, Dr Siu extended his efforts to teaching secondary school students by accompanying them on an overseas trip to Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia.

Dr Siu’s particular passion is for educating the public on the importance and steps of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). A small incident sparked this enthusiasm when he participated in a 10 km race at Science Park in 2012. While running, he encountered a young runner who collapsed suddenly and went into cardiac arrest. Instinctively, Dr Siu immediately performed CPR on the man, as if on any other day in the accident and emergency ward. He fondly recounts that the man survived and, to this day, they remain very good friends. Undoubtedly, he is very grateful that Dr Siu was around on that fateful day. This even also had a profound effect on Dr Siu, placing in him a strong urge to educate the public on basic CPR skills to save more lives. “As an emergency medicine doctor,” says Dr Siu, “I have seen many cases which patients might have survived if someone could have performed CPR.”

Dr Siu points out that a major problem in Hong Kong is that people are afraid to perform CPR and use automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). Bystanders with various degrees of CPR knowledge may choose not to carry out CPR when the time comes, for various reasons. For example, some fear legal consequences if the outcome of the collapsed victim is not favourable. Others assume that formal training is needed in order to operate an AED. Many people are unaware that AEDs are designed to be user-friendly and operated by lay-people, with clear voice prompts and the administration of a shock only if the patient needs one. Dr Siu believes that a ‘Good Samaritan’s Law’ should be implemented in Hong Kong to allay fears of legal action and to encourage people to do CPR when needed by exempting them from litigation. Similar laws have already been implemented in neighbouring regions including mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan. “When saving lives, every second count,” urges Dr Siu, “and although the CPR may be substandard, any CPR is better than no CPR. I hope a ‘Good Samaritan’s Law’ can be implemented in Hong Kong to protect those who choose to save lives out of the goodness of their heart.”

Dr Siu also actively promotes the importance of CPR and how to carry it out effectively by teaching students in schools and the public in exhibition events. He finds this experience extremely rewarding as he is able to put into action what he encourages others to do. To advocate resuscitation to the public in an interactive way, Dr Siu sometimes needs to put down his white coat. In a video promoting infant CPR, he dressed up as the Tang Priest and sung an arranged version of the theme song ‘Only You’ from Stephen Chow”s ‘A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella’. In another video, he plays Iron Head in ‘Shaolin Soccer’ to teach parents to resuscitate their children. He hopes that these creative ideas could spark interest in the public to pursue life-saving CPR knowledge.

Dr Siu’s passion for promoting CPR to the public follows him wherever he goes. He recounts anecdotes from his travels abroad, such as a trip to Japan when he hiked to the top of Mount Fuji and was pleasantly surprised to discover an AED was placed at the summit. He was equally pleased to find that taxis in Singapore are equipped with AEDs. Such accounts highlight the lengths to which some countries prioritise the importance of bystander CPR and accessibility of AEDs.

“There is still much room for improvement” was Dr Siu’s reply when asked about the situation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Hong Kong, based on his research in the subject.1 The ageing population in Hong Kong contributes to a low survival rate; however, the lack of bystander CPR knowledge, coupled with the sparse placement of AEDs throughout the city, the lack of confidence in performing CPR, and the fear of legal consequences, has severely hindered the survival rate in Hong Kong.

With the collective efforts of healthcare professionals, the Fire Services Department, and various other organisations, improvements are being made and new ideas are being put forward in Hong Kong. To improve knowledge of CPR among students, teachers, and parents, extra-curricular activities in schools have been initiated. It is hoped that by allowing the public to see the value and importance of doing CPR when the time comes, they can help not only their loved ones, but also people they come across in the community. As Dr Siu said, “By planting seeds, we can harvest interest and save more people.” Although Hong Kong has yet to integrate CPR courses as part of the compulsory school curriculum, as is the practice in Japan, we are taking our first step in creating a healthier community.

Dr Siu also advocates implementing an AED registry.1 Currently, AEDs can be purchased without official registration. This makes it hard to track the numbers and locations of AEDs in the community. A registry, with formal registration for every AED purchased, including the intended location, would allow all AEDs in Hong Kong can be mapped. Mapping of AEDs is already in place in Singapore and has been further extended through a mobile phone application, myResponder. This application cleverly mobilises volunteers familiar with CPR throughout the community. Whenever a cardiac arrest arises, volunteers within 400 m are notified. Bystanders can locate an AED and receive face-to-face instruction in how to perform CPR and use an AED before arriving at the scene. Using this example, Dr Siu demonstrates the vast opportunities available in expanding public awareness and education on CPR and AEDs.

With a positive outlook, Dr Siu hopes that public education in bystander CPR will reach all corners of society. His advice to medical professionals is to equip themselves with skills and knowledge first and to “mobilise people around you”. To the Hong Kong community, he encourages all to try to spare a few hours to learn, and reminds us that “when it comes to saving lives, every second counts, and any CPR is better than no CPR.”

1. Fan KL, Leung LP, Siu YC. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Hong Kong: a territory-wide study. Hong Kong Med J 2017;23:48-53. Crossref