UAE residents’ willingness to donate organs gives hope of saving more lives

Nearly 70 per cent of UAE residents say they would donate an organ in the event of their death, according to a new study that has given doctors hope of saving the lives of patients waiting for a donor.

Less than a third of those polled were against giving an organ, researchers found.

The findings were significantly higher than in other countries in the region such as Qatar (37 per cent) Iran (47 per cent) and Pakistan (59 per cent) and on a par with attitudes found in countries with long-established donor programmes.

Family refusal rates vary around the world. The most recent figure for England was 37 per cent and 13 per cent in Spain, the world’s leader in organ transplants.

The UAE legalised the removal of organs from dead patients last year, paving the way for heart, liver and other organs to be given to those in need.

Transplants from living donors has been permitted for many years but meant only kidneys could be donated, usually from a family member.

The study was the result of a poll of 495 residents in the UAE and was carried out by specialists including Dr Farhad Kheradmand Janahi from Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences and Dr Ahmad Al Rais from Dubai Health Authority, among other institutes. It was

published in the global journal Transplantation Proceedings.

But while the study showed a positive attitude to organ donation, it also highlighted a lack of knowledge of the procedures and regulations.

While 88 per cent of participants understood the concept of brain dead, just 40 per cent had “correct knowledge that the UAE allows organs to be taken from a brain-dead person”.

Reticence to allow donations from the dead is partly rooted in religious belief.

In Islam the body is viewed as sacred in life and after death, prohibiting cremation and tattoos. One school of thought, particularly in the past, viewed the removal of organs after death as equally taboo.

That view has largely changed to one that permits transplants to save another life.

The survey found 74 per cent had “positive religious sentiments” regarding organ donations and transplants, believing the chance of saving a life outweighed any notion it could be haram.

Only 20 per cent thought that organ and tissue donations could be against their religion, while overall 30 per cent said that they want their body to be intact for the afterlife.

Organ transplants are the only treatment option for patients with end-stage liver and heart disease. It is also considered the best treatment for renal-failure patients in terms of cost-effectiveness and improved quality of life.

There are no precise statistics for how many patients in the UAE require a transplant, although an estimated 2,000 have advanced kidney failure linked to diabetes and will probably require a new organ.

“The current gap between needy patients and available organ donors can only be bridged by raising public awareness about organ donations along with ethical and legal fundamentals,” researchers said. “The gap between the number of organ donors and the patients awaiting transplantation widens each year.

Researchers concluded that “governing bodies must promote community awareness activities regarding the current trends and implement laws in the arena of organ and tissue donation”.

The health authorities this year announced that expats and Emiratis could become donors on the programme.

Medics have been encouraged by initial results and families’ willingness to allow a relative’s organs to be donated.

Dr Ali Abdul Al Obaidli, chairman of the National Transplant Committee, told The National that recent “stories of the success and of the heroes who have donated their organs” have already had an effect. “We are pleased to know that a large percentage of the population is in favour of organ donations,” he said.