Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) has registered over 23,000 new organ donors, including locals and expats from many different nationalities, following the success of its Ramadan Organ Donation Awareness Campaign 2014. The 40-day campaign, which reached out to Qatar residents and citizens to 'give the gift of life' and register as an organ donor, was carried out by more than 450 Hiba trained staff in 12 different malls across Qatar. The Hiba representatives spent six hours each day of the campaign educating the public about organ donation and its benefits as well as addressing any concerns or queries they had. This year’s campaign gave the public an opportunity to register on the spot and receive their organ donor card at the same time. According to statistics provided by the Donor Registry at Hiba, residents from all walks of life and different nationalities have signed up to become organ donors, including 9465 from India, 2935 from Bangladesh, 2803 from The Philippines, 2482 from Nepal, 2383 from Sri Lanka, 1347 from Arab countries including Qatar, and 632 from Pakistan. Dr. Riadh Fadhil, Director of Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) at HMC, said, “This impressive increase in the number of registration reflects the great increase in the awareness of organ donation in the State of Qatar and this in effect has reflected positively on the number of actual donation and transplants done in the country this year.” “The multinational and multi-linguistic Hiba team has enabled Hamad Medical Corporation to optimize the communication with the diverse communities in Qatar, and allowed us to deliver the message to the public with great effectiveness,” Dr. Fadhil said. He added, “We now have 43,000 registrations from 108 nationalities. This represents almost five percent of the eligible population of Qatar which is a great achievement for the registry that started less than two years ago.” According to Dr. Fadhil, Hiba is considering future collaborations with the shopping malls in Qatar to make the organ donation campaign booths permanent, to assist in promoting organ donation and allow an increase in the number of transplantations. Organ transplantation can be a life-saving procedure. It can significantly enhance the quality of life for someone living with chronic organ failure. The organs from deceased donors, who have pledged during their life to give their organs to someone in need, can be the only source of survival for the recipients. A deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives. It is also possible to donate a kidney or part of the liver to your relative, while you are alive. For those interested to register as an organ donor, or to learn more about organ donation, please visit the website: http://organdonation.hamad.qa/

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