DAVAO  DEL  NORTE (PIA) -- Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) expert on kidney transplant recently revealed the shortage of organ donor.

Guesting in the Kapihan sa DavNor, Dr. Trisha Michelle V. Manalaysay, head of Organ and Tissue Retrieval Unit of DRMC-Kidney Center, said more kidney patients are going their way to sprouting dialysis centers as hospitals are running short of organs for transplant.

“Short jud ta sa donors. Mas daghan ang mga naa sa dialysis centers.  Unta ma transplant ni sila. (We really are short of donors.  Many are in dialysis centers. Hoping they would be transplanted) Dialysis is only temporary,” she said citing kidney transplant as the ultimate solution to end stage renal disease.

She cited as lucky that Mindanao has two government-run hospitals capable and accredited to handle kidney transplant: The Davao Regional Medical Center and the Southern Philippines Medical Center.

She assured the living kidney donors that they can still live a normal life with one kidney which can ably function well under condition of a healthy lifestyle.

“Di mo ma feel ang difference. (You cannot feel the difference),” she said

Dr. Manalaysay also considered as a “spiritual” advantage to donate an organ, citing this as act “of saving the lives of others”.

“It’s not more of a monetary, it’s spiritual because it’s an ultimate sacrifice,” she said. “Taas kayo ang among respeto sa mga organ donors (We have high respect for organ donors), because you are actually saving lives,” she added.

During the same edition of the Kapihan sa DavNor, Dr. Manalaysay shared her avowal to donate her organs “if ever something happens to me.

“Mas kampante ko, mas lami sa paminaw na, ang last thing  nga imong gibuhat diri sa kalibutan is nagtabang ka sa lain tao (I feel more confident; it feels good that the last thing you have done on earth is helping other people),” she said.

DRMC has been running a campaign on  organ donation to raise awareness on the significance of sharing ones organs, and to promote appreciation on saving lives.

DRMC Organ Transplant/Procurement Coordinator Rhiza Lei G. Irenea said that DRMC is setting up an Organ Donation sign-up booth in a mall in Tagum City every Saturday and Sunday in the entire Month of June as the country observes the Kidney Month.

DRMC is also in tie up with the Philippine Network of Organ Sharing (PhilNOS) thru which one  can register as an organ donor and be given an organ donor card which  would be honored by hospitals for prioritization once anyone in  the family needs an organ.

However, Dr. Manalaysay called on organ donors to duly inform their relatives of their intention to donate their organs if  it so happens that they would become “brain dead.”

She revealed some missing opportunities to share their organs because attending immediate families of the signifying “brain dead” donors decided not to donate.

“The rate of disease donor matanggong sa family consent, pagsugot sa pamilya,” she said. (PIA-XI/Jeanevive Duron)