Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Dr. Fazıl Küçük Medicine Faculty Academic Members and Marmara University Pendik Education and Research Hospital Organ Transplantation Coordinators Deniz Birtan, Fatma Başyiğit Uçar and Uğur Özdemir made statements on the occasion of Organ Donation Week (3 - 9 November). Statements touched on the following:
What is Organ Donation?
Giving authorisation to transfer one’s organs to another individual after death is called organ donation.
Who can Donate?
An individual should be older than 18 in order to be able to donate. Moreover, the person should verbally state his/her wish to donate in front of two witnesses; also the procedure should be confirmed by a doctor. Donating organs in return of money is prohibited by law. Being an elder, having health problems, consuming cigarettes and alcohol does not prevent one to donate organs.
Which Organs can be Donated?
Each healthy organ can be donated. Organs such as heart, lung, kidney, liver, pancreas, small intestine, face, hand, arm and leg or tissues such as cardiac calve, cornea, bone marrow, cartilage, muscle, tendon are successfully transplanted in our country. It should not be forgotten that everyone can be in need of organs.
What to do if You Decide to Donate Your Organs?
Organ Donations can be done in health departments, hospitals and centres/institutions offering organ donations procedures. It is significant that the individual considering organ donation informs his/her family about the procedure in order not to face any difficulties during the donation process. Therefore, while filling in the organ donation form the individual should provide information regarding a relative or a loved one. After the form is submitted, the ministry will send a message the mentioned relative informing them about the individual’s decision on organ donation. People who are organ donors should always carry their organ donor cards with themselves so that there won’t be any misunderstandings or delays in an event of donation. If a donor changes mind and decides not to be a donor, s/he should immediately stop carrying the donor card and should inform her/his family on the issue. The donor can also go to an Organ Donation Unit and state that s/he changed her/his mind.
View of Directorate of Religious Affairs on Organ Donation
Directorate of Religious Affairs has reported that organ donation is acceptable in the religion as well (06.03.1980 / 396113).
What is Organ Transplantation?
Organ transplantation is the process of transferring a healthy organ from a living person, a person whose brain death has happened, or from a dead person to replace an unhealthy or mal-functioning tissue-organ. Organ transplantation plays a vital role in both medical and socials aspects for patients who are terminally ill because of organ failure. For organ donations, donor can be alive or dead (patients with brain death as well). %75-80 of organ donors are cadavers and %20-25 are living individuals in developed countries. However, in our country the percentages are the other way around but the amount of cadaver donors are increasing each day. The highest rate of donors around the world is in Spain with 40.2 in one million whereas the rate in Turkey is 6 in one million. Only kidney and liver plantations can be done with living donors. Therefore, cadaver donors have highly important for donations of other tissues and organs. You can give life to many people by donating your organs. Each donation is a new life.
