More than 44,000 new organ donors signed up to Qatar’s pioneering Organ Donor Registry during Ramadan. The number is more than double compared to last year’s figure during the same period.
"This brings the total number of registered organ donors to more than 148,000," Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) announced on Wednesday.
During the Holy Month, more than 450 HMC staff had worked to educate and inform the community about organ donation at booths across 14 shopping centres.
HMC staff also shared information about the importance of the programme and provided new donors with their Donor Card on the spot.
In a statement, HMC said an organ transplant is a life-saving procedure and it can also significantly improve the quality of life for someone with chronic organ failure.
Donors pledge to donate their organs after death to someone in need. In some cases, the family of a deceased person agrees on organ donation. Living donors donate a kidney or part of the liver, according to HMC.
“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 Centre. “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, according to HMC. 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 recognised 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,” the director added.
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