Sign up to save lives

Transplant coordinators face numerous challenges in procuring donors for patients awaiting transplants.

- Ilse Schoonraad

A hospital transplant coordinator recently highlighted obstacles such as cultural and religious beliefs, misconceptions about procedures, high turnover of medical staff and general ignorance about organ donation.

"Many doctors are unfamiliar with organ donation processes. Some also impose their personal beliefs on patients and families," she explains.

When a loved one is declared braindead, families are often in a deep emotional state and may be reluctant to discuss organ donation - particularly if the deceased is a child or young adult taken in the prime of life.

These challenges result in waiting lists numbering in the thousands.