KUCHING: MySejahtera users will be able to register themselves as organ donors via the application starting today.
MySejahtera in a Facebook post said the number of patients in need of organ transplant is increasing every year, however, the number of pledgers to donate is still low.
Therefore, the public are encouraged to register themselves as an organ donor using MySejahtera’s newest feature: Organ Donor Pledge, to help people in need of organ transplants.
According to the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation, Malaysia was among the 10 countries with the lowest transplant rate last year at only 2.84 organ transplants done per million population.
A total of 517,758 people had registered as organ donors in the country since 1997 and there had been over 2,700 successful organ transplant cases.
However, there are also 10,442 people on the waiting list for an urgent organ transplant.
Visit the Organ Donation website at dermaorgan.gov.my for more information on the Organ Donation Program.
For inquiries or issue, public can contact the helpdesk via MySejahtera Apps or email helpdesk@mysejahtera.org
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian said organ donation is a topic that most of Sarawakians are not familiar while the rumours about black market organ transplant gave wrong impression.
However, he said, it is a very important topic as Sarawak is rapidly becoming a developed country by 2030.
“Pledging organ and tissue donations while alive (making clear your intention) will make it easier for the family when you die,” he said in a Facebook post recently after registering as an organ donor himself.
“I used to and had to counsel family for organ donation when their loved one unfortunately died of brain death. I always asked, would you receive a donated organ if you are in end stage organ failure? If people are willing to receive but unwilling to donate when you die, where does anyone get the organ?”
Being an organ donor, he said, means that the person has pledged/ allowed his organs and tissues to be donated to help others to live when he has passed away. However, anyone who has health issues would not be qualified to donate their organs.
“I had a patient who came to see me with his children (after all of them graduated from university overseas) wanted to donate his whole body but he was grossly obese with high blood pressure, diabetes, hence, he got rejected by medical experts as organ donor,” he added.
