Brazil: Campaign wants to encourage organ donation

With the theme “Donate organs. Life needs to continue ”, the campaign was launched this Thursday (24)

Surgery, Representative Image by skeeze

Sep 24, This year, between January and July, 9,952 organ and tissue transplants were performed in Brazil, which gave people a new opportunity to live. So that chances like this reach more and more Brazilians, this Thursday (24), the Ministry of Health launched a national campaign to encourage organ donation with the theme: “Donate organs. Life needs to continue ”.

The campaign calls on the Brazilian population to discuss the topic of organ donation and the importance of this act to save lives. It also highlights a key factor in making a donation possible: family authorization.

In the country, by the end of July, 46,181 patients were waiting for a transplant. During the launch of the campaign, the Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, encouraged the population to donate organs and highlighted the importance of the decision to donate and of families to understand and support this act. "I invite all of us to really reflect on this and on how we can influence the lives of many people," said the minister. “As the family does not pay and receives nothing for it, it is just an act of love, the understanding that life must go on and that this is part of the process. Donate the organs, understand and support the decision ”, he added.

Eduardo Pazuello also pointed out that Brazil has the largest public program for transplanting organs, tissues and cells in the world, through the Unified Health System (SUS). SUS is responsible for financing about 95% of transplants in the country.

“Our country, together with the largest Unified Health System in the world, which is the SUS, is also a world reference with the largest public transplant system in the world. So, Brazil is superlative. It is a great responsibility for us who work at SUS to maintain and improve this ”, he said.

A new chance

Parliamentary aide, Edilamar Carvalho, 51, lives in Brasília and, in 2010, discovered that she had been born with a stunted kidney. She started to undergo hemodialysis daily, which brought many restrictions to her routine and concern. Edilamar discovered among the brothers the compatibility for a transplant. The sister donated the kidney and now the advisor celebrates her new life.

“Today, my sister lives very well. And it can give me the opportunity to live my normal life. I take my medication strictly, but it doesn't stop me from anything, I have no restrictions on anything. I work, swim, study, I have a normal life, ”he said.

And he made a request: “Whoever can make the donation because with it you are saving a life. Donate because your organ will be bringing life and taking away all the worry and fear that person was ”.

Impact of Covid-19

During the launch of the campaign, a balance was presented on the donation of organs, tissues and cells. The two most transplanted organs from January to July 2020 were the kidney (2,759) and the liver (1,169), followed by heart (173), pancreas-kidney (55), lung (35), pancreas (17). Cornea (4,163) and bone marrow (1,580) were transplanted.

Worldwide, the number of transplants has been impacted by Covid-19. The fall in Brazil began to be observed in the second half of March. From January to July 2019, 15,827 transplants were performed. In the same period in 2020, there were 9,952 procedures. Organ donations in 2020 also fell 8.4% compared to 2019 data.

According to the Ministry of Health, while some countries halted transplant programs, Brazil maintained its activities with a reduction of about 40%. And the trend is for gradual resumption.

Good news, according to the Ministry of Health, is that this year there was a reduction in the family refusal rate for organ donation. The rate fell from 39.9%, in the period from January to July 2019, to 37.2% in the same period in 2020.

The campaign

Every year, due to the National Organ Donation Incentive Day, on September 27, the Ministry of Health launches a new awareness campaign on the importance of organ donation.

In 2020, the advertising pieces will be shown between September 25th and October 23rd on radio, television, internet and external media. They show the expectation of someone who waits for the donation of an organ or tissue to return to doing simple activities, breathing and seeing.