High time to clear air on organ donation

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MIRI: Being an organ donor may sound scary, but it often becomes scarier when the noble act is misunderstood by the general public.

Miri Hospital’s Transplant Organ Procurement Team (TOP Team) member Dr Ling Heng Wei told thesundaypost recently that compared to Peninsular Malaysia, organ donation awareness was still at a pre-mature stage in East Malaysia.

An organ transplant is a surgical procedure where healthy and functional organs are used to replace a recipient’s terminally damaged organs or tissues.

Organs that can be donated include skin, cornea, renal kidney, liver, heart and lungs.

“In Miri, organ donation campaigns only started sometime in December 2013 with 548 organ donor pledges registered.

“Last year, there was only one successful case of an organ transplant here,” Dr Ling revealed.

Despite being registered as an organ donor, the consent of a donor’s family is important as the hospital can only proceed with the documentation, tests and specialists’ verification after their approval.

“Upon registration, the donor can choose from a checklist which organ to donate and they must keep the card on their person, in case of any emergency, so that they can be identified as an organ donor,” he explained.

“Even so, we still need to seek consent from their family members as we are bound with the legislation of the Human Tissue Act 1974, which states that before the use of human body parts of a deceased person for purposes like therapeutic, medical educational and research, it requires consultation and the consent of the deceased’s family. Therefore it is equally important for donors to notify their loved ones of their decision.”

Dr Ling also cited that one healthy organ donor could benefit eight to 40 people, depending on parts of the organs donated.

As of March, there are 19, 718 people who are in need of renal kidney transplants who are still on the waiting list, whilst liver transplant comes second with three adults and three children, five patients awaiting heart transplants and six awaiting lung transplants.

He also explained that organ transplants occurred after a donor has been pronounced clinically dead by a doctor.

“A cadaveric donor refers to those who are pronounced by doctors to be brain dead, with other organs still functional.

“During this time, the TOP team will race against time before rigor mortis sets in. Within six hours after death, transplantation must be conducted before the organs are rendered useless,” he said.

The team will hold an organ donation street campaign on Nov 7 at three venues simultaneously – Permaisuri Imperial City Mall, Bintang Megamall Miri and Boulevard Shopping Mall.

According to Dr Ling, the event is important to promote organ donation and more importantly, to recruit more organ donors.

“During the campaign, we will enlighten the general public on inquiries relating to organ donation and those suitable and unsuitable to register as organ donors.”

For enquiries, call the toll free line 1800-88-9080, register via Miri Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or visit www.dermaorgan.gov.my.