Qatar pays tribute to 25 organ donors

Manama: Qatar has paid a rare religious, social and official tribute to 14 Qatari and 11 expatriate organ donors amid urgent calls to support a campaign to address the shortage of their numbers in the country.

The honours initiative, a first-of-its-kind in Qatar, is part of the national organ donation campaign, dubbed "Together We Plant Hope", and launched by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).

"As far as organ transplant is concerned, Qatar is a frontrunner, legislatively and practically, as such operations started as early as 1986 at Hamad Medical Corporation," Abdullah Al Qah'tani, the health minister, said.

"HMC has been conducting these operations with a high degree of success that matches the best medical centres in the world. However, we face the problem of the low number of donors. This forces some people to look elsewhere for compensation, which may expose them to immoral trade in organs," Al Qah'tani said at the ceremony attended by Shaikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Misned, SCH vice-chairperson and wife of Qatar's Emir Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani. HMC had been striving to increase its organ transplant efforts through the development of a strategic plan with clear objectives and phases, he said.

The plan draws on the guiding principles of the World Health Organisation and the proposals of the Istanbul Accord regarding trade in human organs, to come out with a conception that observes Qatari laws.

Qatar has formulated a number of principles and proposals that constitute a new school in organ donation and are recognised as the "Doha Donation Accord".

"I take this opportunity to announce to you that Shaikha Mozah has approved the Doha organ donation accord. This has put us all face to face with a national, moral and professional responsibility to make this project a success. This requires the joint efforts of all government and non-government parties to honour donors for their humane and courageous actions," the minister said, quoted by The Peninsula.

Qatar-based Islamic scholar, Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi said organ donation was a unique humanitarian act supported by Islam.

Thirty-five donors have not been accepted by the competent medical committee for health and social reasons, the daily reported.