EDITORIAL
For a few years now Barbados has been making strides in the area of organ transplants, particularly kidney transplants and while this is commendable, we believe that there is so much more that we can do in this area, if only given the chance.
As it stands there are around 300 persons seeking treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) for renal failure for various reasons, and certainly while we would like to see this figure reduced through programmes to screen patients to prevent and or halt the progression of the disease, we are cognisant of the situation at this time and cannot deny the need for kidney transplants, where possible, to be performed. We make that observation acutely aware that not all those persons may be suitable candidates for such transplants. However, from our recollection we have seen donor kidney transplants done to date, but all living-donor; and with that success, albeit limited; we think that Barbados can now begin to lay the groundwork for a deceased donor programme. Indeed we feel this is a programme that should not only be pursued in Barbados, but should be established and co-ordinated throughout the entire Caribbean region.
The fact is our country with its population of 300 000 is small, and therefore we may not find that a lot of people will jump at the idea of donating these organs after they die. However, if we spread that across the region, to include the over 18 million living throughout the islands of CARICOM for instance, the resource pools becomes larger. We therefore envisage a regional database through which persons can register to be donors, and such a system would be no different from what obtains in the United States between its 50 states. Can you imagine the number of lives that could be saved, given that just one organ donor has the potential to save the lives of eight persons?
In the United States there are in excess of 100 000 people awaiting organ transplants and even with their population of over 320 million, there are not enough people willing to donate. While the chances are the same reluctance would likely prevail in Barbados and the wider region, that does not mean it is not an idea worth pursuing, and one that could be successful. Such would call for the establishment of national and regional organ donation registries and for an independent committee to be established to determine how viable organs would be allocated so as to ensure that the process is as transparent as possible. Obviously, as a region we would also have to ensure that we have on hand the specialist surgeons who are capable of performing such surgeries.
In a region where we are plagued with high incidence of non-communicable diseases resulting in organ failure, organ donation could see hundreds of persons getting a second chance at life. Here in Barbados, 18.7 per cent of the population over the age of 25 is diabetic and over one-third between 25 to 70 years suffer from hypertension, which is the main risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Now that paints a somewhat grim picture for Barbados and a lot of them, because of the genetic component, may not be able to turn to a relative for kidney transplant for example. This therefore shows the possibilities for living donor transplants, where possible, and deceased donor transplants to take place. Understandably, we know that death and what will happen to one’s body after, is a topic persons often shy away from, just as many are reluctant to formulate wills. For many the act seems morbid and final, but in the case of organ donation, such an act of generosity is one that should be embraced, for after we die we have no use for our organs, but we can give them to help save someone else’s life.