Just ONE organ donor can save 8 lives.
Ever had the thought of becoming an organ donor? Your desire to become one is just a step away after it was announced by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin that registration for organ donation can now be done through the MySejahtera application effective from 6th September (Tuesday).
“When people make a pledge via MySejahtera, their information directly reaches the National Transplant Resource Centre. If there is a case of death in any hospital and eligible for organ donation, it will [be shown] in the system,” he said.
According to the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation, Malaysia is one of the 10 countries with the lowest transplant rates in the world in 2021 which is at only 2.84 organ transplants done per million population.
“Based on the latest organ donation statistics from the National Transplant Resource Centre in July 2022, it shows that there have been 779 organ donors after death since 1997. The number of organ donor pledges now stands at 517,758 people since 1997,” he said.
To date, there are currently more than 10,442 patients on the waiting list for an organ in Malaysia. Due to the very low rate of organ donation in Malaysia, let’s be the pioneers in this noble initiative.
Organs and tissues that can be donated and transplanted:
Heart – Heart can be donated in case of brain death only. Once retrieved from a donor’s body, a heart needs to be transplanted within 4 hours as a heart can survive for only 4 hours after removal from the donor’s body.
Liver – One liver can save two lives. A liver has two lobes and each can be transplanted to each individual. Even a portion of the liver can be donated as this is the only organ in the human body that can grow cells and regenerate itself to its previous form.
Kidney – Among the list of donated organs, kidney takes the top position as it is most commonly donated. Kidney failures are quite common as diseases affecting kidneys affect both the kidneys almost simultaneously and hence a donor with one kidney is not subjected to any additional risk. A patient with kidney failure can add years to his life through kidney transplant. On an average, the lifespan of a transplanted kidney is 10 years.
Lungs – Both single and double lobe of the lungs can be transplanted. Single lobe lungs are donated by living donors whereas double lobe lungs can be donated by deceased donors in case of brain death and that needs to get transplanted on the recipient’s body within 4 to 6 hours of retrieval from the donor’s body.
You don’t need to show off your luxury car nor lifestyle to be a superhero but signing up as an organ donor can help those who are really in need to live their lives to the fullest.
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