If a single person dies – usually suddenly and in an accident due to fatal brain injuries – seven or even more people can have a second life: his two kidneys, heart and liver can save the lives of four people, his corneas can allow two people to see again, his lungs can even be used, and the bones of his legs and arms can prevent a person’s injured or sick arm or leg after an accident or as a result of cancer from being amputated. You can also save lives by becoming an organ donor.
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More than 20 000 South Africans – mostly poor patients of all ages – are waiting for cornea transplants. Fifteen years ago, an opthalmologist performed an average of 80 cornea transplants every year. Now he can only do four per year due to the great shortage of corneas. South Africa therefore has thousands of blind patients who would be able to see after a cornea transplant but who cannot be helped.
A donor eye must be removed within six to eight hours after the donor’s death. Unfortunately close relatives cannot be traced soon enough to obtain the necessary permission. It is important that the public, and doctors and nursing staff at hospitals must be made more aware of this problem and must inform the Eye Bank of a potential donor.
Although donor corneas can be imported from America at R5 000 each (a South African donor cornea costs about R800), medical aids don’t cover the costs of imported corneas. In America all hospital patients or their close relatives are informed at admission of organ and tissue donation and hospitals and doctors are obliged to inform tissue transplant organisations of every fatality as it could be a potential donor.
Many people who are waiting for organ donations are so ill and the shortage of donor organs so great that many die before a suitable organ can be found. Many of the patients who are lucky enough to receive an organ transplant in time literally raise from the dead to start a new life. This new life is better due to improved anti-rejection drugs and better techniques to detect rejection and other problems.
Every year more than a thousand South Africans have organ transplants. They can see again after a cornea transplant or have a better quality of life after a heart, liver, kidney, lung, bone or bone marrow transplant.
Sixteen South African athletes – who included heart, bone marrow and kidney transplant patients – took part in the 2 000 World Organ Transplant Games. They returned with eight gold, five silver and four bronze medals. Two of the athletes were Alita van Niekerk (26) who underwent a heart transplant seven years ago and who won silver medals for the 5 000m free-style and 50m butterfly events, and Armin Bassadien (40) who underwent a heart transplant six years ago and who completed the 100m in only 10.95.
According to the latest figures of the Organ Donor Foundation, South Africa needs about 100 donor hearts every year. Only enough are available so that 35 heart transplants can be done annually. We need 1 000 kidney transplants per year but can only do 300 due to the shortage. More than 100 people need liver transplants, but only 15 to 20 can be done every year. As many as 20 000 people wait for cornea transplants but only 500 can be helped every year.
Nine out of ten people with kidney problems who require renal dialysis are sent home to die. In 2001 the government gave instructions that a further quarter of dialysis patients must be sent home to die due to further budget cuts. The only and most cost-effective alternative for dialysis is a kidney transplant.
Contact details:
The Cape Kidney Association, P.O. Box 34622, Groote Schuur Hospital
The Organ Donor Foundation, toll free 0800 22 6611
The Eye Bank Foundation of South Africa, (021) 447 5151/2
The transplant co-ordinators: at Groote Schuur Hospital, (021) 404 3316; Tygerberg Hospital, (021) 938 4911 and the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, (021) 422 0488
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