This year, nearly 1,454 patients are on the waiting list for an organ transplant in Belgium, and nearly 13,800 patients for the entire area covered by EuroTransplant (grouping 8 countries: Benelux, Germany, Austria, Slovenia , Croatia, Hungary).
All of these patients are at the terminal stage of their disease: transplantation is the only way out. And the organ shortage is getting worse …
Organ donation has not been spared the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of organ donors has fallen by almost 25%, and the number of transplants has therefore also fallen sharply. Double consequence: an increase in the waiting time before being able to benefit from a transplant, and an increase in the number of patients waiting for an organ.
These patients are of course fragile and increasing the waiting time can be fatal. Every day that goes on the list, hoping for a transplant, is a waste of luck.
And the fabrics?
Much less well known than organ donation, but vitally important, tissue donation is more often than expected. Placement of heart valves or blood vessels, corneal transplants that allow sight to be restored, tendons after a serious fall, bones after surgery, skin to allow severe burns to heal … The range of situations that can be improved by tissue grafting is broad, and it increases with technical progress. The demand is also increasing every day.
Express yourself!
It is therefore more than ever this year that this world day for organ donation and transplantation resonates like a cry from the heart and a call for solidarity. Do not hesitate any longer, express yourself: make known, as 430,580 Belgians have already done, your desire to become a donor if the day should come.
Since the Royal Decree of July 1, 2020, it has been made possible to express your wishes in terms of organ donation by connecting (via ITSME or an identity card reader) to the site www.masante.belgique.be under the heading Donation and declarations of will (organ donation and other human bodily material). We need you more than ever.
It is also possible to express yourself on this question directly to your attending physician or to the municipal administration.
Why you have to save your will
In our country, in theory the rule is “who does not say a word consents”. If you have not declared anything, by default you are the donor. That said in the field, when a patient could become an organ donor, the resuscitation teams always seek to know his wishes from the closest family members.
Expressing your opinion while you are alive, in full awareness, saves precious time for resuscitation teams, for whom every minute counts. It also saves your loved ones from having to make an important decision at a very painful time. Do not hesitate to talk about it with your close relatives.
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