* Annual organ donation campaign launched
Members of the public are being asked to consider giving the gift of life and registering to become an organ donor as part of Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) annual organ donation campaign, which has been launched this week at shopping malls and other prominent locations around the country.
There are currently more than 345,000 people on Qatar’s organ donor registry – more than 12% of Qatar’s total population – and it is hoped this number will increase to 400,000 by the end of the year, HMC has said in a statement.
As part of the annual Ramadan campaign, information booths staffed by Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) representatives are providing members of the public with information about becoming a registered organ donor, including the process involved and the benefits.
The annual campaign also allows the public to ask questions about organ donation and transplantation. Individuals who are interested in becoming a donor are able to register at the booths and receive their donor card on the spot.
Dr Riadh Fadhil, director of the Qatar Organ Donation Centre at HMC, said the main objective of the annual event is to increase awareness within the community about organ donation and to help correct misconceptions.
“In Qatar, we have kidney, liver, stem cell, and cornea transplantation programmes, and transplant surgeries are performed by a team of highly skilled professionals. We have state-of-the-art facilities and provide safe and compassionate care,” said Dr Fadhil.
An organ transplant can be a life-saving procedure and can significantly improve the quality of life for someone with chronic organ failure. These life-saving organs come from deceased donors who have pledged during their lifetime to give their organs to someone in need. A deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives.
“It is also possible to donate a kidney or part of the liver to a relative while you are alive. Under the Doha Donation Accord, we make sure we look after donors and their families. For living donors, we provide health insurance for life, as well as covering any loss of income due to working days missed during the operation and recovery. We also honour our donors for giving this precious gift during an annual ceremony organised especially for this purpose,” said Dr Fadhil.
Dr Fadhil added that Qatar aims to become self-sufficient in organ donation and noted this can’t be achieved without widespread community support, underscoring the significance of the annual Ramadan campaign in helping to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation.
Dr Asma al-Abdulghani, director of HMC’s Organ Donation Campaign, said her team has briefed more than 500 staff members who will be directly involved in the campaign. She says the multicultural team of campaign representatives will be able to support members of the public in making a decision about becoming an organ donor, and in most cases will be able to do it in their native language.
HMC is asking the public to visit one of the organ donation booths, which will be staffed each evening during Ramadan between 7pm and 11pm and during the Eid holidays from 5pm to 9pm. The booths are stationed at City Center Doha, Gulf Mall, Villaggio, Safari malls, Grand Mall, Al Meera supermarkets, Ansar Gallery malls, Al Khor Mall, LuLu hypermarkets, Ezdan Mall Al Wakrah, Family Food Centre outlets, Al Watan Centre and Al Attiyah Market.
For more information about organ donation in Qatar, one can visit http://organdonation.hamad.qa/en/