Save a life: register

ORGAN Donor Foundation spokesperson Gillian Walker said: “I have huge admiration for Bryn and his family for making the honourable and selfless decision to say yes to organ and tissue donation, and give the gift of life to so many.

“They are a wonderful example and the way they are continuing to increase awareness for organ and tissue donation is remarkable.”

Walker said that through organ and tissue donation, it was possible for one donor to save seven lives by donating a heart, two lungs, two kidneys, and a liver and a pancreas; and improve up to 50 lives by donating skin, bone, tendons, heart valves and corneas.

The foundation’s statistics for last year show KwaZulu-Natal remains very low when it comes to organ transplants, with a figure of 34 transplants.

This despite having a population count close to that of Gauteng, which led the way with 160 transplants.

Cape Town takes second place with 134 transplants. These figures include related living donors, nonrelated living donors and cadaver donors, of which there are very few.

According to Walker, the majority of transplants were for kidneys, for which there was also the highest demand “as a result of lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension”.

Registering to become an organ donor is free.

Go to www.odf.org. za, or call the toll free number, 0800 22 66 11.