Kidney transplants from deceased donors dropped to 20 in 2017

Data available to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) showed that in 2015, the rate at which Filipinos die from kidney failure is one every hour.

According to Dr. Romina Danguilan, Organizing Committee Lead of REGALO Organ Donation Advocacy, the rate could well be at one death every 30 minutes given the sharp decline in organ donation and the alarming rise of patients who are currently undergoing dialysis.

In 2015, there were 32,077 patients suffering from kidney failure. Only 475 transplants were made that year, mostly from living organ donors.

Each year, the number of patients with end-stage renal disease increases, but the number of living donors have plateaued and the number of deceased organ donors have dropped to what NKTI executive director Dr. Rosemarie R. Liqeute called "dismally low" 20 in 2017. 

In 2015, there were 32,077 patients were on dialysis and there were over 18,000 new patients who needed to be on dialysis that year.

— Aya Tantiangco Miura ?????‍???? (@ayaruim) June 13, 2018

The number of deceased organ donors  — meaning people who have consented to have their kidneys harvested upon death — has been abysmal since 2009. It peaked in 2011 with 90 deceased organ donors, but the number has been below 50 since 2014.

This year, from January to June, the NKTI has only done three transplants from deceased donors.

Dr. Danguilan explained that one deceased donor yields two kidneys, which benefits two transplant patients. However, various reasons still keep people from signing off their organs for transplantation after death.

Some are simply unaware that it can be done, which is why the Department of Health, REGALO, the National Kidney Institute, and other organizations continue to promote the Organ Donor Card.

The card can easily be downloaded via the Organ Donor Card Facebook page and for Filipinos who already have a driver's license, they can tick the "Organ Donor" option at the back of their license.

There are people who are discouraged from carrying the Organ Donor Card for fear that a doctor will not do everything they can to keep them alive, but Dr. Danguilan said that this is absolutely not true.

A doctor's job is to save lives, she explained, and that includes the potential organ donor.

Kidney diseases, especially end-stage renal disease, are the seventh leading cause of death among Filipinos. Donating an organ upon death allows a person to do a final act of kindness for others by improving and extending their lives. It is the very definition of heroism. — LA, GMA News