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Organ Donation Awareness: A Lifeline for Kidney Patients
28 Jun
Summary
- Low awareness forces most kidney patients to rely on dialysis.
- Over Rs 5.1 billion spent on dialysis for 28,657 patients.
- Deceased donor programs offer hope for those needing transplants.
A significant deficit in public awareness regarding organ donation in Pakistan is compelling kidney patients to opt for lifelong dialysis, with a mere one percent receiving renal transplants. Health experts highlight that dialysis is a temporary measure, whereas transplants offer a superior quality of life and a lasting solution. Hundreds of kidney patients reportedly lose their lives annually while on transplant waiting lists due to the underdeveloped culture of organ donation.
The Institute of Kidney Diseases (IKD) is capable of performing two transplants daily but requires more donors to increase capacity. The provincial government established the Medical Transplantation Regulatory Authority (MTRA) in 2017 to combat illegal organ trade, and since then, over 900 transplants have been performed, predominantly by living related donors. MTRA is actively promoting deceased organ donation, engaging religious scholars to encourage participation.
Since 2016, the Sehat Card Plus initiative has facilitated 966,466 dialysis sessions for 28,657 patients, costing Rs 5.104 billion. A notable event occurred in June 2025, when organs from a 14-year-old brain-dead boy were successfully transplanted to five patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, inspiring the establishment of the Jawad Khan Shaheed Organ Donor Foundation to advocate for deceased organ donation.
