Can your heart, bones, lungs or skin be given to someone when you die? 1 000 patients awaiting organs and tissue transplant in Gauteng

Of the 18 Gauteng patients who received transplants from five cadaver donors, 10 received kidneys, five received livers, three received hearts and one received lung transplant.

Of the 18 Gauteng patients who received transplants from five cadaver donors, 10 received kidneys, five received livers, three received hearts and one received lung transplant.

Pretoria – The Gauteng Department of Health has extended gratitude to different people who have donated organs and tissue, which made it possible for 18 people to receive the “gift of life”.

“Through their generosity and selflessness, 18 patients who were on the waiting list for different organs received the gift of life and were transplanted at different transplant centres, including the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. The Gauteng Department of Health also wishes to thank their families (the donors) for making sure that their last wishes were honoured,” said Gauteng Health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba.

“Of the 18 patients who transplanted from five cadaver donations, 10 received kidneys, five received livers, three received hearts and one received a lung transplant. Out of the five cadaver donors, two further donated tissue.”

One person donated corneas, bone and skin, whilst the other also donated bone and skin.

The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital head of surgery hospital’s Professor Thifhelimbilu Luvhengo has also conveyed a message of gratitude to all families of deceased and living donors.

“Organ and tissue transplantation is the most effective way to treat irreversible organ and tissue failure. Those who consent to donate have and continue to save many lives.”

“We would like to encourage all South Africans to register as organ donors. We would also like to encourage families of deceased to consider organ donation,” said Luvhengo, who is also the Gauteng co-ordinator of the provincial solid organ transplant governance team.

One of the people who received a kidney transplant at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Kopeli Mosoatsi, 37, from Orange Farm in Joburg said that he was grateful to the family of the cadaver donor who gave him a second chance to live his life to the full again, after being on dialysis for seven years.

“After being diagnosed with kidney failure in 2016, my life changed for the worse. I could not physically do the things I used to, and the pain was unbearable. I was very fortunate to receive a donor and I will forever be grateful to the family that saved my life,” said Mosoatsi.

“It is now my life’s mission to create awareness on organ and tissue donation as it can save many lives and end the suffering that many people on the transplant waiting list have to endure.”

Between April and July, 21 transplant operations were performed at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital following the donation of eight cadavers.

Gauteng has a long waiting list for organ and tissue transplant, of about 1 000 patients.

The provincial health authorities have encouraged people who wish to donate organs to register or share their last wishes with their direct family members because they need to give consent for organ donation at the time of death.

Organs that are urgently needed in Gauteng include heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas, whilst tissue include corneas, skin and long bones.

Those who wish to donate an organ or tissue can enquire at their nearest hospital or alternatively, register as a donor with Organ Donation Foundation www.odf.org.za.

IOL