18,000 Malaysians still waiting for organ transplant

From: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/18000-malaysians-still-waiting-for-organ-transplant

MAY 25, 2014

Malaysia’s low organ donation rate has resulted in 18,000 people waiting for organ transplants, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WHO noted Malaysia's organ donation was only 0.8% per million, which was among the lowest in the world, Dr Rafidah Abdullah, deputy president of the Malaysian Transplant Association (MTA), was quoted as saying by Bernama.

The majority of patients waiting for organ transplants are those with kidney failure, followed by heart and lung disease sufferers.

Dr Rafidah, who heads the Nephrology Department at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital, Temerloh, said the level of awareness among the people was low, with the number of donors dropping annually.

"In 2010, there were 31,085 organ donors while in 2012, it dropped to 30,482 and dropped further last year to only 25,415," she said at the “Organ donation night run – race against time, run for life 4.0” event yesterday.

The Chinese are the top donors followed by Indians and Malays.

In comparison, in 2011, Spain leads the list with 34.3 per million population being organ donor - 25/5/2014