05 December - Health - South Africans urged to give the “Gift of Life”

In today’s show, we heard from Samantha Volschenk – Executive Director for the Organ Donor Foundation. We were talking about organ donation in line with National Transplant Day, which was on Saturday the 3rd of December. The Organ Donor Foundation is a non-profit organisation, established to address the critical shortage of organ and tissue donors in South Africa through awareness and education campaigns. According to the foundation, Organ transplantation is now a highly successful procedure and it is considered routine surgical practice for treating many chronic diseases. At least 21 different organs including hearts, livers and kidneys, and tissues including corneas and bone marrow can now be successfully transplanted into patients. Samantha explained more on how one can go about in giving the “Gift of Life”. Remember there is no cost charged to register as an organ donor. To register or for more information contact the Organ Donor Foundation on 0800 22 66 11 or visit www.odf.org.za