Thailand to launch campaign to recruit organ donors
Thailand will launch a campaign to encourage moreorgan donors, as thousands of patients await transplants, Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong said.
Last year there were more than 3,500 patients awaiting organtransplants in Thailand, but only 136 donors, Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong said.
The per centage of donors among the population was 15 times lower than the international average, he said.
He set a target of getting 1,000 organ donors per year. The ministry will next year launch a campaign to encourage Thais to commit to donating their organs if they become brain-dead - or those of their relatives who already are brain-dead.
Many Thai Buddhists believe that removing organs at the time of death might have a negative effect in the next reincarnation.
Although the 2012 donor figures were low, they were up from 113 donors in 2011, and 87 in 2010.
Thirty-eight public hospitals will be used as organ-processing centres from brain-dead donors from next year, Pradit said.
Most patients seeking transplants suffer from kidney, liver,pancreas or heart ailments, according to the Health Ministry.
