The Organ Procurement Skills Training Programme approaches the organ shortage problem through the training of health care professionals in organ procurement, and the development of a solid collaborative network, to establish a professional organ procurement system, and to achieve strategies to increase donor awareness in the medical community.

This initiative was designed to help improve organ donation by training and advising health care professionals, administrators and managers on how to detect, identify, evaluate and manage possible donors of organs and tissues.  The fundamental goal is to increase procurement of organs in number and quality for the purposes of transplantation. 

The clinical and interpersonal communication skills imparted by the training course empower the health care professional to transform potential donors to actual donors, ultimate referral and distribution through the established sharing system to the most suitable recipients.

Many potential organ donors are lost or go unnoticed due to lack of knowledge, ignorance or apathy on the side of the medical profession.  Transplantation does not form part of a medical/ nursing education unless the individual goes on to specialise in this field, therefore, many health care professionals are not trained to identify a situation where a patient could be a potential organ donor.

Sadly, many potential organ donors are lost in our hospital’s ICU’s and trauma units due to the lack of training of these health care professionals.  Our training programme is designed to educate health care professionals who have not previously had any training in organ transplantation, so that we may increase the number of potential transplants in South Africa.

The programmes are jointly funded by the Organ Donor Foundation and the South African Transplant Society.  ICU and Trauma Unit staff from around the country are invited to attend these workshops, which take place in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban.

The major issue which plagues the field of transplantation within the medical community is the lack of knowledge and understanding of donor identification, procurement and management.  As a result many hospitals in outlying areas that are not affiliated to a transplant centre, seldomly, if ever, refer potential donors or have the skills to identify and manage potential donors.

This is a serious national issue which the Organ Donor Foundation has attempted to address through doctors educational field trips to these remote and outlying areas.

In September 2006, the first trip was undertaken where the surgeon in charge of transplantation at Red Cross Children's Hospital and a Transplant and Vascular Access Surgeon from Groote Schuur, visited George State and Private Hospitals.  Their aim was to address these issues.  The response from the institutions attended was overwhelming and has since resulted in donor referrals which would not have otherwise occurred.

This form of education is imperative and will continue to form an important aspect of the key strategy for addressing the critical shortage of organ donors in South Africa.

The financing and administration of the ‘Transplant Flight for Life’ is an integral part of the Organ Donor Foundation’s role in transplantation.  It was set up to pay for the transport of vital organs from remote areas where scheduled flights are not available or insufficient.   

We receive a number of sponsored flights each year, however, the use of our sponsored flights is dependent on a number of factors such as aircraft and crew availability and in some cases due to the sponsorship allocation being exhausted.  In these situations, we have to pay for the costs of chartered fights.  The cost of these charters ranges anywhere between R28 000 and R45 000 per flight and place a huge burden on the fundraising efforts of the Organ Donor Foundation.

In 2008, ‘Transplant Flight for Life’ was able to retrieve a total of 20 life-saving organs. The flights were used for private and state equitably and by transplant centres countrywide.

Educational theatre is a powerful and successful medium for conveying a message to an audience consisting of diverse nationalities, languages and communities.  The ODF has produced an educational roadshow on organ donation aimed at high schools, universities, companies and churches in South Africa. 

We believe that the introduction of educational theatre will assist us in targeting the specific cultural groups where most of our challenges lie.  Statistically members of previously disadvantaged communities have comprised the largest portion of recipients and yet constitute the smallest percentage of registered potential donors.

The Organ Donor Foundation attends over 100 corporate Health & Wellness days each year.  These days offer the Foundation a wonderful opportunity to meet the public and educate them on transplantation and organ donation.

If your company is holding a wellness day and you would like the ODF to attend, please contact capetown@organdonor.org.za or call 0800 22 66 11.

Throughout the year, the Organ Donor Foundation runs educational visits to schools and universities around the country.  We offer visual aids and presentations and an informative talk on organ donation and transplantation.

If your school or university is interested in an awareness talk, please contact capetown@organdonor.org.za or call 0800 22 66 11.