Approximately 2 780 South Africans are now on the waiting list for kidney, liver, heart, and other organ donations and transplants.
The Department of Health reports that while more individuals, including children, are dying practically daily while waiting for organs, the waiting lists are becoming longer.
As the world prepares to observe a campaign to promote awareness about the importance of organ donations and transplants, the department has urged residents to embrace the gift of life via organ donation.
The government stated in a statement issued on Tuesday that the goal of the 2022 organ donation campaign is to raise awareness of the fact that donating an organ while still living or after death may significantly improve the lives of many other people.
The subject for the 2022 organ donation campaign is “A life after mine,” which serves as a reminder to South Africans to save lives by donating their organs.
“A single organ donor may save up to seven lives and, at the same time, enhance the quality of life of many individuals by alleviating the emotional and psychological load,” says the American Heart Association.
While the general public is aware of blood donation, according to the agency, less is known about organ donation.
To promote and maintain awareness of the significant campaign, the department has partnered with partners including the Organ Donation Foundation and civil society organisations in the area.
Despite cultural and religious barriers, organ donation has benefited many individuals and altered their lives.
Once they turn 18, anybody may offer to donate their organs.
Living donors may donate organs like a kidney or a portion of the liver since humans can survive on one kidney and the liver is the only organ in the body that can regenerate itself.
This is one of the two main types of organ donation.
An other kind of organ donation is referred to as a dead donation, which is the transplantation of an organ from a willing donor who has gone away to a live person.
The two organs that are most commonly required are the kidneys and the liver, but the department noted that biliary atresia, which is sometimes mistaken for jaundice and is a major cause of liver failure in children, is a prevalent cause of liver failure.
After deciding to sign up for organ donation, it advised patients to talk to their family and loved ones.
“We urge everyone in South Africa, particularly medical professionals, to join the network of organ donors in order to lessen the backlog and save lives.”
Volunteers who are organ donors may take part in this life-saving campaign by visiting their local hospital to get advice on how to sign up or by getting in touch with their local provincial or national department of health.
As an alternative, people may register as a donor on the Organ Donation Foundation website at www.odf.org.za.