The Importance of National Organ Donation Day: Saving Lives Through Transplantation

Transplantation is a medical treatment indicated when all other alternatives to recover health have been exhausted. It is about the replacement of a diseased organ and/or tissue, with no possibility of recovery, with a healthy one that assumes the function of the damaged organ of the recipient, improving their quality of life.

“People who need a transplant are those who have an organ or tissue that stopped working due to illness or an accident,” explains Dr. Valeria El Haj, adding that “in Argentina the Instituto Nacional Central Único Coordinador de Ablation e Implanta (INCUCAI), together with other organizations, work to guarantee universal access to transplantation”.

According to INCUCAI data, currently in Argentina there are more than seven thousand people who need a transplant to save their lives. And these transplants are only possible from the donation. For this reason, this date serves to generate awareness and solidarity in order to build day by day the understanding that donations save lives.

One donor saves seven lives

In Argentina, each person can donate seven organs. This means that kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, and intestine transplants can be performed, as well as tissues such as corneas, skin, bones, and heart valves that may be the possibility of giving life to another seven people on the waiting list. “Furthermore, living organs can be donated only in the event of extreme need, only in the case of kidney and liver transplants,” says Dr. El Haj.

In 2019, Law No. 27,447, also known as “Justina Law”, was created. A Law whose purpose is to increase the number of donors. Justina was a girl who did not manage to receive the heart she expected, for which her family launched the Multiply x7 campaign, to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and spread the message that proclaims that: “one donor saves seven lives “.

Who are or can be donors?

As of the “Justina Law”, all people of legal age are organ donors, unless they have expressed their will to the contrary. “The death of a loved one is a traumatic moment and it is important to be clear about the will that the person expressed in life,” says the professional.

Organs such as the heart and lungs can be transplanted if patients die in intensive care. Obtaining organs for transplantation is carried out in people who present brain death, defined as the absence of neurological response to any stimulus.

All people in Argentina can donate organs. To do this, they only have to register through the INCUCAI website or express their will when they process the identity document. “No one knows if at some point in life we ​​will need an organ transplant for ourselves or for a loved one. The important thing is to raise awareness about this act that definitely helps save lives. There are more than 7,000 people on the waiting list who can have another chance to live thanks to organ donation,” concludes El Haj.