If such methods of kidney/organs donation worked in Spain and Norway, why not here? I really hope the government can consider taking such measures. Doing so would shorten the waiting list for organs donation and enable more lives to be saved.
So how long would it take for it to be effective? 2 years? 5 years? 10 years?
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The Straits Times
17 July 2008
Short queues for kidneys in Spain and Norway:
Here's why Kidneys from the elderly are accepted and more people are willing to be donors
By Salma Khalik
BEFORE considering organ trading, Singapore can increase its supply of kidneys by learning from Spain and Norway, says a top kidney specialist here. The two European countries have short waiting lists for kidney transplants - unlike Singapore, where the average wait is nine years for the 560 people on the list.
Both countries accept kidneys from the elderly, whereas in Singapore, kidneys are taken only from people 60 years old and younger. This immediately cuts off the supply of many kidneys every year.
In Spain, a third of the cadaveric kidneys are from people over 60 years old. Spain and Norway stand out in the world for their short list of patients waiting for kidney transplants. Their success has been cited in the current debate raging over whether Singapore should consider legalising the organ trade to meet the high demand here.
Organ trading is a criminal offence here and, in the last month, five men were charged in connection with the offence, the first such cases here. The cases have resulted in some people calling on the Health Ministry to reconsider the ban on organ trading.
But before going down that route, Professor A. Vathsala, director of the kidney transplant programme at the National University Hospital, said Singapore should expand its organ donation programme first.
She has visited Norway and Spain and believes that some of their practices, such as removing the age restriction on cadaveric donation, could be adopted here. Spain transplants both kidneys from an older donor - even someone in his or her 80s - into an elderly recipient. 'No organ goes 'wasted' to be buried needlessly when it can save the lives of so many others with organ failure,' she said.
Another big difference is that people in Norway accept that patients have better outcomes with a kidney from a living donor. Almost everyone there is a willing donor. 'In Norway, the whole family turns up for the evaluation,' she said.
'In Singapore, we often have parents reluctant to donate a kidney to their child.' Madam Halimah Yacob, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, suggested incentives such as free medical treatment. This way, she argued, 'they will be less worried about hefty medical bills if complications develop after they donate their kidneys'.
Another lesson from Norway - stay healthy. Prof Vathsala said this not only cuts the number of people whose kidneys fail, but also increases the pool of potential donors. She revealed that here, one in three family members who volunteer to donate a kidney is turned down because of medical problems.
As most patients here have only one or two willing donors, unlike in Norway where the whole family turns up, getting a suitable donor is not easy. It is a matter of lifestyle and attitude towards health and health care, she said. In Norway, patients 'are more disciplined and kidney failure due to diabetes is low'.
There, only 13 per cent of kidney failure is due to diabetes. In Singapore, the rate is 53 per cent. She said: 'Diabetes is an easy disease to treat. The problem with our patients is they don't want to take charge of their illnesses. 'They think that their diabetes is a mild condition. They think they can eat a little bit of sweet today and pop in an extra tablet later. 'They won't take insulin when their doctor advises them to. They live a life of excess. They are frequently obese. They lack exercise ...the list goes on.'
So how long would it take for it to be effective? 2 years? 5 years? 10 years?
--------------------------------
The Straits Times
17 July 2008
Short queues for kidneys in Spain and Norway:
Here's why Kidneys from the elderly are accepted and more people are willing to be donors
By Salma Khalik
BEFORE considering organ trading, Singapore can increase its supply of kidneys by learning from Spain and Norway, says a top kidney specialist here. The two European countries have short waiting lists for kidney transplants - unlike Singapore, where the average wait is nine years for the 560 people on the list.
Both countries accept kidneys from the elderly, whereas in Singapore, kidneys are taken only from people 60 years old and younger. This immediately cuts off the supply of many kidneys every year.
In Spain, a third of the cadaveric kidneys are from people over 60 years old. Spain and Norway stand out in the world for their short list of patients waiting for kidney transplants. Their success has been cited in the current debate raging over whether Singapore should consider legalising the organ trade to meet the high demand here.
Organ trading is a criminal offence here and, in the last month, five men were charged in connection with the offence, the first such cases here. The cases have resulted in some people calling on the Health Ministry to reconsider the ban on organ trading.
But before going down that route, Professor A. Vathsala, director of the kidney transplant programme at the National University Hospital, said Singapore should expand its organ donation programme first.
She has visited Norway and Spain and believes that some of their practices, such as removing the age restriction on cadaveric donation, could be adopted here. Spain transplants both kidneys from an older donor - even someone in his or her 80s - into an elderly recipient. 'No organ goes 'wasted' to be buried needlessly when it can save the lives of so many others with organ failure,' she said.
Another big difference is that people in Norway accept that patients have better outcomes with a kidney from a living donor. Almost everyone there is a willing donor. 'In Norway, the whole family turns up for the evaluation,' she said.
'In Singapore, we often have parents reluctant to donate a kidney to their child.' Madam Halimah Yacob, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, suggested incentives such as free medical treatment. This way, she argued, 'they will be less worried about hefty medical bills if complications develop after they donate their kidneys'.
Another lesson from Norway - stay healthy. Prof Vathsala said this not only cuts the number of people whose kidneys fail, but also increases the pool of potential donors. She revealed that here, one in three family members who volunteer to donate a kidney is turned down because of medical problems.
As most patients here have only one or two willing donors, unlike in Norway where the whole family turns up, getting a suitable donor is not easy. It is a matter of lifestyle and attitude towards health and health care, she said. In Norway, patients 'are more disciplined and kidney failure due to diabetes is low'.
There, only 13 per cent of kidney failure is due to diabetes. In Singapore, the rate is 53 per cent. She said: 'Diabetes is an easy disease to treat. The problem with our patients is they don't want to take charge of their illnesses. 'They think that their diabetes is a mild condition. They think they can eat a little bit of sweet today and pop in an extra tablet later. 'They won't take insulin when their doctor advises them to. They live a life of excess. They are frequently obese. They lack exercise ...the list goes on.'
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