Doha deal to address organ donor shortage Monday, 06 September 2010 05:20

DOHA: Senior health officials yesterday expressed their hope that the severe shortage of organ donors in Qatar would be addressed with the launch of the national organ donation campaign and the Doha Donation Accord under the patronage of H H Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned.

“The support of Sheikha Mozah has given a major boost to the campaign. We are still facing a shortage of donors in the country. We hope more nationals and residents would now come forward to donate organs. We would like to see the number of donors as well as the recipients grow in Qatar in the years to come,” Dr Yousuf Al Muslamani, head of the Organ Transplant Committee said yesterday.

He was addressing a joint press conference at the Hamad Medical City with Professor Francis Delmonico, president-elect of the Transplantation Society in the US, and medical adviser to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Delmonico said he was deeply impressed by the gesture of support shown by Sheikha Mozah and prominent Islamic scholar Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi at Saturday’s ceremony to honour organ donors in Qatar.

“Al Qardawi’s speech was inspiring when he declared the support of Islamic scholars to organ donation and transplantation from a religious perspective,” said Delmonico.

The officials said a major objective of the Doha Donation Accord was to prevent the patients from falling prey to immoral practices related to organ transplant abroad.

Delmonico said there were several incidents where the recipients died of other diseases due to poor post-surgery care, after undergoing the transplant operations abroad.

Referring to the dangers of organ trade, Al Muslamani said those donors who sell organs for money would be abandoned after the surgery, without proper medical care.

“Since organ trade remains banned in most countries, such operations take place under cover, without the required facilities. Both the donor and the recipient will suffer,” he noted.

The Doha Donation Accord has clearly stated that “the primary objective of transplant policies and programmes should be optimal medical care to promote the health of both donors and recipients. Financial considerations or material gain of any party must not override primary consideration for the health and well-being of donors and recipients,” noted Delmonico.

According to the Accord, “organ, cells and tissues for transplantation should be equitably allocated within Qatar to suitable Qataris and expatriate patients residing in Qatar alike, without regard to gender, ethnicity, religion, social or financial status. Financial considerations or material gain of any party must not influence the application of relevant allocation rules.”

The Accord involves developing a national record of organ donors. Accordingly, the donors, both citizens and residents, will carry on the back of the health card the word “donor”, which will be the first of its kind in the Middle East.

Moreover, there will be a database containing medical information of all patients and donors, making it easier to call the proper patients for organ transplantation operation upon the availability of the donor.

Since the implementation of the terms of this agreement, there has been a considerable increase in the number of donors, whether during life or after death, as evidenced by the fact that the operations achieved in the first three months of 2010 were more than what was done during 2008 and 2009. The Peninsulaa

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