The Organ Donor Foundation was founded in 1988 by a group of businessmen, medical personnel involved in transplantation, transplant recipients and service organisations including Medic Alert, Lion Clubs and Round Tables to address the critical shortage of donor organs in South Africa. As the national umbrella body for the promotion of organ donation, the Organ Donor Foundation of Southern Africa is actively involved in educational and publicity programmes directed at the public and the medical profession.

The Foundation also plays an important role by funding emergency flights to transport organs through its Transplant Flight for Life flight programme, established in memory of a heart transplant patient who initiated the programme in 1989. This flight programme has had a significant impact on the growth of heart and liver transplantation in particular. Since its inception, emergency flights have been organised under the auspices of the flight programme saving more than 300 lives.