By Christopher Lidom
KUCHING, Aug 25: More organ donors are needed in Sarawak to save lives, says Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.
According to Dr Sim, only about 5,000 individuals in Sarawak have registered as organs donor out of the 2.4 million population.
“For example, about 300 dialysis patients (in Sarawak) a year can undergo kidney transplants if the organs are available.
“But, how many kidney transplants we hear of a year? So that gives you a comparison of how many people we need, and we have not talked about heart, liver and many other organs that can be transplanted,” said Dr Sim during a press conference after launching the State-Level Organ Donation Awareness Week at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) here today.
Dr Sim, who is also Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, said more organ donors would also help develop the field of organ transplantation.
Apart from the awareness campaign, he noted, the hospital, specialists and nurses also need to start instiling this culture in their workplace.
He said they can start by asking family members or relatives of patients who are in a brain dead situation, for consent to make the latter organ donors before removing their life support.
“At least the good organs can continue to live on in another person to give that person a chance to live better as well as saving another life.
“Although it is not easy to imagine that the organs of loved ones continue living in another person, but if they can get through that mental process, it is the right thing to do,” he added.
Among those present were SGH director Dr Ngian Hie Ung and Sarawak Health Department deputy director Dr Azlee Ayub. — DayakDaily
