Did you know that there are about 4300 young children and adults in South Africa urgently awaiting an organ? Yet only 0.2% of the population are registered organ donors. South Africa is in an organ donation crisis with less than 600 people receiving organs each year, and thousands of patients paying the ultimate price because not enough people are signed up as organ donors. And so, the Spur Foundation and ODF (Organ Donor Foundation) are set to change this by championing the #Save7 campaign.
The crazy truth is that one person donating their organs will save 7 lives and donating your organs is the closest most of us will come to being superheroes! 1 heart + 2 kidneys + 1 liver + 2 lungs + 1 pancreas = 7 lives. What could possibly be better than knowing that you will leave a legacy after you are gone by preserving someone else's life?
Paying it forward by sharing this simple truth is at the heart of the Save7Lives (#Save7) campaign. "Spur is well aware that there are many families in this country suffering because they desperately need organs to save the lives of those they love. This campaign intends to spread the word and get people to take up the challenge to register as organ donors," explains Allen Ambor, Executive Chairman of Spur.
"We have made it easier than ever to register as an organ donor," says Ambor, "All a person has to do is log onto the Facebook App, then share it with 7 of their Facebook Friends that they would choose to save. They, in turn, choose 7 of their Facebook Friends whose lives they would save, and so on." He continues, "One share could be life-saving, every time you share our campaign, a friend or a friend of a friend may just register."
"This App will get people talking about the fact that by donating your organs, you might be saving the lives of one of your friends or family. We have to really think about the possibility that someone you might know or even be close to, could one day, need an organ. It will only take a few minutes of time and in doing so, awareness of the plight of thousands of South Africans will be brought to light." Ambor concludes.
There are many myths about organ donation. Here are 7 facts about becoming an organ donor:
• It costs nothing to register as an organ donor and takes one minute online.
• Any person who is in good health and clear of chronic diseases can be an organ donor
• Your heart, liver and pancreas can save 3 lives and your kidneys and lungs can help up to 4 people.
• You can help up to 50 people by donating your corneas, skin, bone and heart valves.
• Organ and/or tissue donation is a gift so no compensation will go to your family, and the state or the hospital cover the cost for removal and processing your organs
• Organ donation does not leave the body disfigured in any way. The utmost respect and dignity is given to the donor at all times. The recovery of organs and tissue are carried out with great care by surgeons and trained staff and the process does not change the way the body looks.
• You have to be declared brain dead by 2 medical doctors, who are completely independent of the transplant team. They have to perform detailed & strict tests before a person can be declared brain dead.
Now that you have the facts, you can see that being an organ donor can make a big difference, and not just to one person but seven. For people waiting for organ transplantation, you becoming an organ donor may mean a second chance at life, or an improved quality of life. Let this thought spur you on to become a donor and encourage others to do the same.
Become part of the #Save7 campaign, simply click on the Facebook App and become a superhero today!
There are approximately 4,300 South African adults and children awaiting a life-saving organ or cornea transplant, while only 600 transplants take place a year. One organ donor can save the lives of seven people, however South Africa has one of the lowest organ donation rates in the world (around 2-3-million as opposed to 13-million in the UK and over 30-million in Spain, the most successful country (Transplant News. Professor Alastair Millar. Vol 9 No 1 Issue 30 - February 2010 Vol 10 No 3 Issue 36 - August 2011).
The Organ Donor Foundation of South Africa (ODF) is a non-profit organisation established in 1988 with the aim of addressing the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors in South Africa.
For more information, visit www.odf.org.za.
The Spur Foundation was launched on Mandela Day, 18 July 2012 when the Spur group donated R670,000 to The Spur Foundation Trust.
The primary goal of The Spur Foundation is to uplift and improve the lives of South Africa's families, with a special emphasis on nourishing and nurturing children. The Spur Foundation will support various initiatives that administer feeding schemes and provide basic necessities and amenities to children in impoverished communities.
The Spur Foundation hopes to grow as a charitable institution and provide financial assistance for educational bursaries and general community upliftment.
For more information, visit Spur.
