Only 4,770 Of 95,000 People Qualify To Donate Organs

KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 (Bernama) -- A total of 95,394 people have pledged to donate their organs but only 4,770 of them qualify to do so, according to National Heart Institute (IJN) Medical Director Datuk Seri Dr Robaayah Zambahari.
She said the majority of the would-be donors did not meet the established criteria for organ donors.
From the medical viewpoint, the organs -- including the heart -- of a would-be donor who had attained the age of 50 could not offered for donation.
"Furthermore, only organs from a `brain dead' person can be used," she said at the acceptance of 1,000 organ donation pledge cards from the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Central Council of Malaysia at the IJN, here.
The cards, the largest number so far, were collected during an organ donation pledge campaign organised during the Thaipusam festival last month.
Dr Robaayah said IJN had a strict set of criteria on organ donation, which included the donor having good blood pressure, a well-functioning heart and the donated organ getting accepted by the recipient's body.
As such, she said, more organ donors were required, and the awareness of organ donation had to be instilled in the people, particularly the next-of-kin of the person requiring organ replacement.
Dr Robaayah said IJN conducted various programmes such as seminars and roadshows and cooperated with hospitals and non-governmental organisations to foster awareness as well as promote organ donation.
Since December 1997, the IJN had carried out 16 heart transplants and last December it carried out the first lung transplant in the country.