20 September 2012 | last updated at 12:01AM
'No jumping queue to get donated organs'
IPOH: All donated human organs are given to patients in need in a transparent manner regardless of status, religion and race.
Hospital Kuala Lumpur National Transplant Resources Centre (NTRC) clinical manager Dr Muhammed Anis Abd Wahab said the selection of patients to receive any of the donated organ was based on the clinical criteria.
He said no patient would be allowed to jump queue in the organ donor waiting list, including VVIPs.
"There were some cases previously where some VVIPs requested for their names to be put first in the waiting list. "However, we can't entertain such requests.
"It might cause the public to lose confidence and they will make the assumption that only rich people will benefit from the donated organs," he said when presenting his paper at the organ donor forum at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here yesterday.
He also said not many people were willing to come forward to donate their organs. He said more than 15,000 Malaysians were put on the waiting list to undergo organ transplant presently, with a large number being kidney patients.
"The commonly transplanted organs are heart, liver, lungs and kidneys."
He said although some 184,000 people had registered as organ donors since the campaign started in 1997, the number of cadaveric donors (an organ or tissue donor who had already died) remains small. He added that there were about 350 actual organ donors to date since the organ transplant programme started in 1976.
Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, who also spoke at the forum, said Muslims were allowed to donate their organs. He said organs donated by Muslims could also be transplanted to non-Muslim patients.
"Islam also prohibits human organ trade."
NTRC National Transplant Procurement Management Unit head Datin Dr Fadhilah Zowiyah Lela Yasmin Mansor said Johor had the highest number of Malay organ donors compared with the other states in the country.
"It is evident that the Malays in Johor are more open and receptive towards the organ donors programme."
