Doha, 24 August, 2016: More than 44,000 new organ donors signed up to Qatar’s pioneering Organ Donor Registry during Ramadan – more than double last year’s total for the same period.
This brings the total number of people on the Organ Donor Register, which is unique in the region, to more than 148,000 registrations.
During the Holy Month, more than 450 Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) staff worked tirelessly to educate and inform the community about Organ Donation at booths across 14 shopping centers. They also shared information about the importance of the program and provided new donors with their Donor Card on the spot.
An organ transplant is a life-saving procedure. It can also significantly improve the quality of life for someone with chronic organ failure. Deceased donors are those who have pledged during their life to give organs to someone in need. They include cases in which the family agrees on organ donation after the person’s death. Living donors donate a kidney or part of the liver while they are alive.
“The aim of the campaign was to inform people about organ donation, answer their questions and let them know that living donation is safe,” said Dr. Riadh Fadhil, Director of Qatar Organ Donation Center. “The educators were also able to speak to the community about deceased donations and the importance of informing your family about your wishes."
The growth of the registry is unprecedented in the region. Qatar is one of the few countries in the region offering integrated organ transplant services, on the basis of a single, unified national waiting list.
“We are proud of the Doha model of organ donation and the successful strategies that were designed to address our challenges in Qatar. This model has now become internationally recognized as both safe and ethical,” Dr. Fadhil said. “We encourage all residents in Qatar to register as an organ donor and if they have a patient related to them, to look for a living organ donor within the family. Organ Donation is a societal responsibility that needs collaboration to achieve self-sufficiency and to treat all our patients.”
For more information about organ donation in Qatar or to register as a donor, please visit http://organdonation.hamad.qa
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