Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) launched its annual organ donation campaign this week in malls and other locations around the country. The public are being asked to register as organ donors.
HMC hopes to increase the number of people from the organ donor registry from the over 345,000 at present to 400,000 by the end of the year. As part of the campaign, booths staffed by Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) representatives are providing the public with information on becoming a registered organ donor.
The annual campaign 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.
“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 Riadh Fadhil, director of the Qatar Organ Donation Centre at HMC.
Dr Fadhil added that Qatar aims to become self-sufficient in organ donation and this can’t be achieved without widespread community support. An organ transplant 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.