ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday announced the launch of a national initiative to promote organ donation across the country, state media reported, which would feature special logos on National Identity Cards for voluntary donors.
The prime minister’s statement came on the occasion of ‘International Identity Day,’ which is marked annually on Sept. 16. This global initiative seeks to sensitize governments and nations around the world about the responsible adoption of legal identity.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has announced the launch of a national initiative aimed at promoting organ donation and to save human lives,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said.
Sharif said individuals who voluntarily register themselves as organ donors will have a special logo printed on their National Identity Cards, adding that organ donation is a “profound act of kindness” that can give a new lease on life to those in need.
“He urged to work collectively toward building a more inclusive world where every individual’s rights are recognized and respected,” the state media said.
An organ transplant is usually performed when any organ of a person has stopped functioning properly, leading to severe limitation in regular activities and a high likelihood of early death.
Organs or tissues for transplantation may be obtained either from a living or a deceased person. A living person may donate from paired organs such as kidneys, or a piece from the organ such as the liver. Blood, bone marrow, skin or bones may also be donated by living donors.
Multiple organs and tissues may be obtained from a deceased person including kidneys, liver, pancreas, heart, lung and intestine and other tissues.
Pakistan ranks eighth in kidney diseases worldwide, causing 20,000 deaths every year where more than 20 million people suffer from renal disease, according to the not-for-profit hospital The Kidney Center. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is rapidly growing in Pakistan owing to factors such as late diagnosis, kidney stone disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
