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'Deaths from organ failure rising by 5pc annually' - The News International |
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Karachi Organ Donation Day was observed on Saturday at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Tranplantation (SIUT), Karachi. The event was held in collaboration with the Pakistan Society of Nephrology (PSN), Pakistan Association of Urological Surgeons (PAUS). The organisers made a passionate appeal to society at large to come forward and pledge donations for organs, as doing so would save the lives of the thousands who were waiting for a second lease on life. Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza, who was the chief guest at the occasion, stressed the need for promoting organ donations in the country. She deplored that every year, around 50,000 persons die due to organ failure in Pakistan, and warned that this number was growing by 5 percent annually. She described organ donation as an act of profound generosity and a service to humanity. “Organ donation is a noble and compassionate act, we should strive to promote this humanitarian cause to save as many lives as possible,” she said. “The primary factor in a majority of cases is paucity of organs and ignorance about the appropriate scientific treatment,” she informed the audience. She underlined the need to tackle this problem by ensuring availability of more organs and by inculcating the spirit of compassion for those whose lives were in danger. She added that President Asif Ali Zardari had also signed the consent card. Mirza recalled that organ donation laws had been recently been promulgated in the country, and that these law allowed for the donation of organs by deceased while strictly prohibiting the trade of organs. She also paid rich tributes to Urologist Dr. Adibul Hasan Rizvi and the services provided by the SIUT, and urged Rizvi to run a kidney centre that had been established in Badin on the pattern of SIUT. “In Badin, we have established a state of the art Kidney Center and I urge Dr. Rizvi to take over the center and run it on the pattern of SIUT to provide better health facilities to the poor masses of my home district” she said. Dr Fehmida Mirza also gave her consent card and expressed her willingness to donate her organs. Many prominent personalities have already pledged support for the campaign by giving similar consent. Professor Adibul Hasan Rizvi, Director SIUT gave an overview of cases of organ failure that occur in Pakistan as well as in other parts of the world. While discussing the constraints and remedial measures, he made a passionate appeal to society to support the organ donation campaign for the relief of ailing population. Quoting statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), he said that Pakistan has one of the worst records for providing transplant surgical facilities out of all South East Asian countries. Family members of those who had donated their organs after their death, included Anwar-ul-Huq father of the late Naveed, Mrs Razzak Memon, wife of late Dr Razzak Memon and Qurutul-Ain, mother of Master Arsalan - the first liver donor in Pakistan - were also present on the occasion. Officer-bearers of the Pakistan Association of Urological Surgeons, the Transplantation Society of Pakistan and the Pakistan Society of Nephrologists also spoke at the event. Speaker Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza along with a number of women MPAs from Sindh, also filled donor cards and addressed the ceremony.
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