Jordan News

Atallah’s prayer

The culture of organ donation is still limited in Jordanian society, especially in light of the epidemiological conditions that prevented many from going to hospitals except for necessity, and also led to a decline in organ donation by (15-20)% compared to the past.

Vice President of the Jordanian Association for the Promotion of Organ Donation, Ahmed Shaker, said that the association aims to take organs from donors in cases of brain death in particular; To meet the country’s need for patients with renal failure and those in need of kidney transplantation.

In his speech to the electronic newspaper “Akhbar Al-Jordan”, Shaker indicated that, in cooperation with the Association of Friends of the Eye Bank, about 5,000 corneas were obtained within 30 years, indicating that this is a good number; Because “if we wanted to import it (corneas) from abroad, it would cost $7 million.”

He added that corneas are offered free of charge to citizens who suffer from eye diseases and corneal diseases.

Shaker noted that the association was greatly affected during the Corona pandemic; Because the employees who work for the association in hospitals were not assigned to work most of the time, and they could not communicate with the relatives of the deceased.

He added, that most of the deaths were due to Corona, and therefore the organs may be unhealthy, and the situation was not normal during the pandemic, in which organ donation decreased by (15-20)%.

Shaker explained that the association is working hard after it succeeded in establishing a directorate in the Ministry of Health for organ transplantation to establish a national center for organ transplantation at the level of the Kingdom, to include medical services, the Ministry of Health, university hospitals and private hospitals.

And he indicated that this center should contain national records for people who need members, and when any member becomes available, the center’s administrators have a database to refer to to benefit from the largest possible number of donated organs.

He added that the association is working to intensify its campaigns aimed at spreading awareness of the lack of kidney failure, and avoiding eye diseases and other diseases that lead to the necessity of organ transplantation.

Shaker stated that the organ donation process is carried out through 3 means, and the first method is to recommend the person while alive to donate his organs after death by filling out a special card, but this case requires the approval of the parents after death; Because it worked for the sake of God – Almighty -.

He continued, that the second method is through the parents upon the death of a family member, so that they communicate with the association and take the approval of the legal guardian to donate organs when needed, and the third method is from a living person to a living person, at which time the donation is limited to the kidneys and part of the liver In this case, a quarter of the liver is taken; Because the liver grows in both the donor and the donor within about two months.

Shaker indicated that the association works with great effort to hold seminars and raise awareness, pointing out that it was able, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, to develop a project curriculum to encourage the policy and culture of organ donation, and the same applies to the Traffic Department, by trying to write on the traffic card “donor” or “” Not donated.”

He added that the department provided the association with a poster for people wishing to place a “donor” or “non-donor”, but this has no legal cover, while the association is trying hard to allow writing on the personal card whether the owner is recommended to donate or not.

Shaker explained that the association focuses on organ donation from a deceased person to a living person, and in the case of complete death, only the cornea can be taken. Within the framework of relatives, and a small percentage, estimated at about 1%, is done from the donation of brain deaths.

He indicated that there is no discrimination between males and females, but organ donation is done according to the deaths that are recorded during the year and the people who want to donate. In some years, more males and in other years the majority of female donors.

Shaker added that the Eye Bank Friends Association, chaired by HRH Prince Raad bin Zaid, has been holding a ceremony specifically honoring the families of cornea donors for 25 years.

He pointed out that the Deputy Amir, Dr. Hanan Al-Droubi, worked on allocating 5 trips on her personal account to perform Umrah for one of the relatives of the cornea donors, to honor and encourage them, and that the Ministry of Health provides free health insurance for a member of the family of the organ donor, within the law health insurance.

Shaker called to contact the association to donate organs, via his personal phone: (0795555582).

It is worth noting that the Jordanian Society for the Promotion of Organ Donation was established in 1997 under the chairmanship of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and several years ago it was chaired by HRH Prince Raad bin Zaid. Jordan is considered a pioneer in organ transplantation, which began in 1972.