Organ Donation Awareness:
April is observed as “donate organ save life” month. This April, springtime garden the theme. Greenery depicts hope of new life, and insects represent helping each other as a connected society. This April, let’s promote the cause of saving lives through Organ Donation Awareness, creating awareness and educating the masses.
Organ donation the surgical removal of organs from one person and transplanting, it to replace non-functional organs of another person. Legal consent of living donor or assent of the next of kin of deceased donor.
Organ donations the only hope at a new life for people with end-stage organ failure. Shortage of donated organs worldwide but Pakistan experiencing the worst situation. Here organ donation still considered a taboo. with little to no awareness, and termed as unethical or unislamic. An estimated 50000 people die of end-stage organ failure in Pakistan, helplessly waiting for an organ transplant.
Introduction:
April observed as organ donation month or “Donate Life” month globally, especially in America. Various cultural and motivational seminars arranged all over the world to educate and encourage masses for the cause of organ donation. April is the month to honor those who have donated their organs to save lives.
This April the theme is “springtime” garden. The garden, the greenery depicts hope, the hope of new life. The insects depict mutual connection, empathy and positive contribution towards the cause. All aspects of garden mean interconnected, helping, and lively society.
We all have the potential to serve society, to help save and enrich life. This April we urge you to be a part of a great cause, save lives, educate yourself and society about organ donations.
Pediatric Donation Transplant week will observe April 19-25 2020. Come forward, a life-saving champion, educate yourself and create awareness in your circle of influence about “living donation”. Nurture the saplings, become the hope of a new life. Help us in promoting the cause, they waiting for you with empty helpless eyes but with hopeful hearts.
Join Dr Faisal Dar clinic, on Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms, to help create awareness, and honour donors, recipients, caregivers, transplant surgeons, health professionals, pharmacists and paramedics, who are striving day and night to save lives of those waiting for a second chance at life.
What is Organ Donation?
Organ donation is the legal permission of a person to surgically remove his/her organ and transplanted to another person. There are two types of organ donations.
- Organ and tissue donation by a living donor is a type of donation by consent while the donor is alive. In this type, organ, part of organs and specific tissues are donated either to save the life of a patient or for research purposes. Kidney, part of the liver, part of the pancreas, part of the lungs and part of the intestines can be donated by living donor.
- Deceased donor’s organ donation is the surgical removal of the whole organ and transplanting to another person/persons, by legal assent of the next of kin.
Currently, Spain has the highest no of donors per million, followed by Portugal, Belgium, Croatia and the United States respectively. Unfortunately, there is a large gap between the no of registered donors and those waiting for transplant on a global level. Although optimised social networks efforts and focused educational interventions have created positive views about organ donation, we are still miles behind in achieving the goal, as more and more people are registered every day in the waiting list for life-saving organ transplants.
Attitudes towards Organ Donation Awareness in Pakistan:
Pakistan lack ideal health system. Health facilities for the general public are scarce and health awareness even scarcest. Organ donation is still considered a taboo in Pakistani society. Most Pakistanis have zero knowledge of organ donations, and if they have any, its source is predominantly television. People here know about kidney transplant but liver, tissue and other organ transplants are unknown to the wide chunk of the population. Most Pakistanis are not aware of living donor transplant procedures and consider the deceased’s organ donation as mutilation/dishonor to the dead body. The outlook of Pakistanis about organ donation is gradually shifting towards positive, but the majority still consider it unethical and unislamic.
Statistics about Organ donation in Pakistan:
There is an extreme shortage of donated organs globally but Pakistan in the worst imaginable situation. No exact date available but estimated that 50000 people die each year due to end-stage organ failure in Pakistan. Nearly 15000 people die of kidney failure, 10000 with liver failure, and 6500 with heart failure. These and many more unreported lives can be saved if the organs are available for donations.
If you need further assistance and authentic information please reach us at
Dr. Faisal Dar (Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute, Lahore)
Call us at: 0341–0543883, 042-111 117 554