BLACKS SHUN ORGAN DONATION
Cultural practices, religious objections and beliefs account to a lack of donors
“IN GENESIS chapter 2, when the Lord was looking for a suitable helper for Adam, he put him to sleep, and while he was sleeping, the Lord took one of the man’s ribs. Then he made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man,” says Unisa lecturer Freddy Mnyongayi.
“This simply means with just a donation of an organ, you can also make another person’s life possible,” he adds.
To raise awareness about the lack of organ donors in black communities, Open Eye Foundation hosted its first Organ/Tissue Donation indaba in Protea South, Soweto, on Saturday.
Cultural and religious beliefs against organ donation are at the centre of the shortage of black organ donors, the conference heard.
Hepatobiliary surgeon Dr Anna Sparaco said 321 organ transplants were done last year, and 99% of the organs came from white donors.
At present, there are approximately 4 300 adults and children on the waiting list for organ donation. The death of one person can save seven lives, Sparaco said.
“One liver can be donated to two people and two lungs can save two people,” she added.
Mosa Mphore, a kidney recipient and the founder of the Open Eye Foundation, said: “Misconceptions, language barriers, cultural practices, religious objections and beliefs account to a lack of donors from the black communities.”
Mphore said SA still lagged behind in educating black communities about organ donation. He called on non-governmental organisations to partner with government in educating black communities.
Among the beliefs within blacks, Mphore added, was that when you die, ancestors would not accept you with missing organs.
But Eva Malatse of the Traditional Healers Organisation said the beliefs were a misnomer.
“God gave me a gift to heal and I am sure he would be happy to see that even after my death I would heal seven lives by just donating my organs.”