'Many, many people die waiting for a transplant in SA'

There is a critical shortage of organ donors in South Africa, according to the Organ Donor Foundation said on Friday. The foundation's executive director, Samantha Volschenk, said many, many people die waiting for a transplant.
SAPA, 17 August 2014

There are currently 4 300 adults and children awaiting transplants, with less than 600 transplants being performed a year. Kidneys were most in demand. Other organs in demand included livers, hearts and lungs. Organ donation in the country remained stagnant, despite growing awareness on social media networks. Volschenk said that in the last 24 months there had been an 80 to 90 percent growth in the foundation's social media and internet campaigns. Organ donation in South Africa is particularly important due to the population size, as well as the large number of diseases in the country.

The ratio of two donors for every million people was also one of the main reasons why organ donations were so important in the country. In Spain there are 33 donors per million people. The foundation is not directly involved in medical procedures and processes, but focuses on awareness of the shortage of organ donors.