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Bahrain to launch organ donation database

Manama, June 17, 2013

An organ donation database will be rolled out in Bahrain to coincide with the launch of the Bahrain Foundation for Organ Relief in October.

The initiative is being spearheaded by the Syro Malabar Society and will involve the distribution of organ donor cards similar to those carried by people in the West, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The foundation's president-elect Chackunny Paulo said it was in the final stages of securing permission from the Health Ministry to carry out its organ donation drive.

"We met Health Minister Sadiq Al Shehabi last year and informed him about our foundation's plans," he said. "The minister has backed our noble movement to promote cadaver donations in Bahrain."

The plan is to encourage people to sign consent forms allowing their organs to be transplanted to living patients after their death.

"In this part of the world, the awareness level is low when it comes to organ donation," explained Paulo. "People can save lives even after their death by donating their kidney, liver, eyes, bone marrow or any other organs."

He said the foundation intended to collect information on potential donors in Bahrain and then hand it over to the Health Ministry.

"We are creating a database of donors of different organs for the Health Ministry," he said. "It is then up to the ministry to decide when it comes to the beneficiaries."

The Bahrain Foundation for Organ Relief will be officially launched during a two-day cultural event on October 17 and 18.

It will be held under the patronage of the Social Development Ministry at the Indian School Bahrain, Isa Town. The event will feature music and dance by artists from India and Bahrain.

A Press conference announcing details of the cultural event will take place on Wednesday at the NGO Centre, in Tubli.

The GDN reported last month that organs donated by people in Saudi Arabia could be used to save the lives of transplant patients in Bahrain.

Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) is tying up with Dammam's King Fahad Hospital to create a cross-border transplant programme for patients needing a new kidney, liver or pancreas.

Organs donated in Bahrain will also be used to help patients in Saudi Arabia if there is no potential recipient waiting here.

It is part of a new drive to revive Bahrain's transplant programme, which has stalled for the past two years - reportedly as a result of political unrest that disrupted operations at Bahrain's main public hospital. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | database |

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