'Inform family about wish to donate organs'

KUALA LUMPUR: Only 387 out of the 205,478 registered donors have donated their organs for transplantation since 1975 until last month.

The Health Ministry's Medical Development Division director, Datuk Dr Azmi Shapie, said this number was inadequate as 15,581 people were on the waiting list for organs.

"This also clearly shows the lack of public awareness of the importance of registering as organ donors.

"The rate of organ donation after death (cadaveric) in Malaysia is at 0.7 per one million population (pmp) compared with 4.5 pmp in Saudi Arabia, 4.0 pmp in Qatar and 2.9 pmp in Iran," he said when officiating at the Organ Donation Awareness Week 2012 campaign at the National Library, here, yesterday.

Dr. Azmi said although there were many card-carrying organ donors, those who actually donated their organs were few due to family members denying hospitals permission to remove the organs for transplantation upon their death.

"I would like to advise donors to inform their family first that they have registered as organ donors and upon their death, the family should inform the hospital about the donors' wish to donate their organs."

National Transplant Centre chief clinical manager Dr. Fadhilah Zowyah Lela Yasmin said those who wished to donate their organs were not necessarily those who had registered, as 20 percent of the 387 individuals who had donated, did not register themselves as organ donors.

"Anyone can donate their organs after it has been verified that their organs can be used for transplantation."

She said to reduce the waiting list, the centre, with the cooperation of the Health Ministry, was training medical officers in getting information on whether a deceased person was a registered organ donor or not.

"It's good if the hospital can be alerted first on the status of a patient before he or she dies." Bernama