Organ Donor Awareness Week 2012
"Last year was a record year for organ donation and also the year for the lowest number of road traffic deaths ever recorded in the state, dispelling the public myth that most organ donors come from road traffic accidents," announced Mark Murphy, chief executive of the Irish Kidney Association, at the national launch of Organ Donor Awareness Week 2012.The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, TD, launched the life saving awareness campaign, which is organised by the Irish Kidney Association and supported by the Irish Donor Network, at the Mansion House, Dublin 2 today Monday 26 March.Mr Murphy said that to increase our levels of organ donation and transplantation the overriding wish would be for an Irish organ donor registry to allow the public to voluntarily identify themselves on a database, similar to the practice in many countries, including the UK.To address the growing number of people on transplant waiting pools as well as the 100% rise in kidney patients being treated by dialysis over a 10-year period, Mr Murphy called on the minister to divert more resources to organ donation and transplantation."Transplantation is far less costly than dialysis and with a sharp increase from 893 dialysis patients between 2002 to a staggering 1795 by the end of 2011, such investment makes economic sense," he said.There are currently over 650 people in Ireland awaiting organ transplants.Organ Donor Awareness Week also serves as a fundraising exercise for the Irish Kidney Association.Throughout the Week (March 31 to April 7), Irish Kidney Association volunteers will be out on the streets and in shopping centres throughout the country selling forget me not flower emblems (the symbol of transplantation), brooches, magnetic car ribbons and pens.Proceeds will go to the Irish Kidney Association's support programme for patients on dialysis and those patients fortunate enough to have a kidney transplant.Donations can be made online via Paypal to the Irish Kidney Association by logging on to website www.ika.ieIrish Kidney Association LoCall 1890 543639 or Freetext the word DONOR to 50050, www.ika.ie.It is now possible to store an organ donor card, the ecard on smart mobile phones. Simply search for Donor ECard at the IPhone Store or Android Market Place.