Organ Donor Card

CEBU, Philippines - What you are looking at right now is the Organ Donor Card.

After watching two people get a second lease at life for having their vision restored through the donated corneas of James Lim and Miko Sotto, I feel the great need to take active participation in the advocacy.

Celebrity mom Toni Rose Gayda-Lim donated James’ cornea the way movie/stage/TV personality Ali Sotto agreed to facilitate donation of teen star Miko’s eyes after their sons’ death. The two were reported to have figured in freak accidents – falling off from the verandah and window ledge of their condo units, respectively.

Giving a part of themselves so that others may live moved me to tears, most especially at the sight of the emotional recipients. From then on, I made a resolve to share healthy/functional organs instead of whining at the thought of decay – and uselessness – once my body would be rendered brain dead.

About 25 organs and tissues of our body may be donated for transplantation, this was learned. The most common of which is the kidney. Others include major organs – heart, liver, lung and pancreas; and tissues – bone and cartilage, bone marrow, corneas and skin.

Thousands of Filipinos die every year from organ failure and the lack of organ donors. Many lives can be saved if more Filipinos will donate a part of themselves.

The survival rate of organ transplants is quite encouraging. According to data gathered by the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, survival rates for kidney transplants during the first year were registered at 90-95 percent for living-related donors and about 80-85 percent for diseased organ donors. These rates are comparable with the survival rates of similar transplants in other parts of the world.

New drugs, improved surgical techniques and a deep commitment of today’s team of health care professionals help make transplants safer and more successful.

The Human Organ Preservation Effort of the NKTI was created specifically for the retrieval, preservation and allocation of organs and tissues for clinical transplantation.

Transplant coordinators are on call 24 hours a day to receive and respond to referrals, this was further learned.

Because becoming a donor is a personal and emotional decision, it would be of help for you to talk this first with your family. Explain why you’re considering becoming a donor. Let them express how they feel. Keep in mind that helping others by donating organs and tissues could be comforting to the family – a symbolic way for you to help others continue to live.

Ask your physician for information. He or she can answer many of your questions and can suggest other sources of information that may help you to make a sound and firm decision. Discussions with your physician are most helpful during times of good health.

Speak with your friends. Some of them may already carry organ donor cards. If so, ask them why they made that choice. If not, share what you know about organ donation as well.

Consult a member of the clergy. Many of the major religious organizations support organ and tissue donation. If you have any specific questions or concerns about your religious organization’s position on this issue, talk with a member of the clergy.

The organ donor card is important because it “identifies your wish to become an organ donor.”

Republic Act 7170, the Organ Donation Act of 1991, legalizes this through the organ donor card.

In case of a brain dead patient, the following legal requirements must be met before retrieval surgery is undertaken: Declaration of brain death by the patient’s neurologist, neurosurgeon, or attending physician; and consent for donation from the next of kin in the absence of a donor card.

By the way, brain death means that the brain is no longer functioning and there is no more chance of recovery.

To accomplish the organ donor card, print or type your name. Indicate whether you want to donate all organs or tissues or only those organs and tissues you have listed. Sign your name in the presence of two witnesses (preferably the next of kin). Request them to sign the card.

Organ donor cards are available at the Advocacy and Health Promotion Office-Department of Health in Central Visayas along Osmeña Boulevard (formerly Jones Avenue). ?