Demystifying organ donation

In a move meant to dismiss myths and increase awareness about organ donations, the Organ Donor Foundation is embarking on a campaign to educate previously disadvantaged communities.

The non-profit charity which aims to address the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors in South Africa through regular awareness and education campaigns will soon roll out its Uluntu Project to disadvantaged communities – starting with Gugulethu and Khayelitsha township in Cape Town.

It will then be taken to other parts of the country.

Communications director Jooste Vermeulen said they were in the preliminary stages of the project.

The project will be to ensure that when people come across organ donor forms in hospitals, they are not caught off-guard, Vermeulen said.

“Some people decide they want to consult with their families, pastors or even traditional healers before making the decision and often time is not on their side,” he said.

Some of the things communities will be educated about include the following:

lThe body of one person can save seven people if the life saving organs are harvested;

lSkin can also be donated, but it is the outermost top layer that is taken and the flesh will not be left exposed; and

lTissue and bone marrow donations can help up to 50 people.

According to Vermeulen, there are about 4500 South Africans waiting for life saving organs while only 300 transplants are done annually on average.

“We have the hospitals, knowledge, infrastructure and all the capacity to do more and we are leading the rest of Africa but we can do more.

“Donors must discuss their intentions with their next of kin because even if one is on the donor’s list and the family does not agree the donations will not happen because the deceased cannot speak for themselves, so families must always know your wishes,” he added.

Organ donation is still something rarely talked about in black families with some believing that their loved ones should be buried with all their organs intact.

However, over the years, organ donation has made some inroads with traditionalists and religious leaders throwing their weight behind it.

Inkolo Kantu spokesman Loyiso Nqevu said: “We can see people’s lives are being saved and we have nothing against it.”

Pieter de Heer, an elder at Jehovah’s Witnesses said contrary to popular belief, they have nothing against organ donation. — siyab@dispatch.co.za