Donors advised to stay in good physical shape

Star: This would ensure their organs would be healthy when harvested later for transplants, he said.
“We do not want lungs, for example, from a smoker,” he told reporters when announcing activities for World Heart Day here yesterday.
Dr Sim urged donors to pledge all their organs instead of only certain organs.
He said heart disease was the world’s largest killer and the number of cases was on the rise.
“Anyone, whether you are rich or poor, old or young, can get a heart attack. There are more smokers reported in rural areas, and among farmers and factory workers. So, they are more at risk of getting heart disease,” he said.
Dr Sim said that the youngest patient to undergo open-heart surgery at the hospital was only 24 years old.
In a press statement, the Sarawak Heart Foundation said it had spent over RM5mil to sponsor more than 200 heart patients for treatment in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and here, from 1997 to 2001.
The activities for World Heart Day, jointly organised by the Sarawak General Hospital and Sarawak Heart Foundation, include a public cardiovascular screening campaign at Kuching City South Building on Saturday, a walk-a-mile event at the state library lakeside terrace on Sunday and a free public health talk at the library's auditorium on Nov 4.