Malaysia: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Makes History In Organ Transplant

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), Sept 27 (Bernama) -- The Queen Elizabeth II Hospital recorded its own history when it succeeded in operating on the kidneys belonging to someone confirmed as 'brain dead' for organ transplantation. When announcing the matter, State Health Deputy Director (Medical) Dr Adlan Suhaimi Ahmad said the operation to remove the organs, which was carried out after receiving permission from family members, began at about 1am and ended at about 4.30 this morning. He said the receiver and the organs were later flown to Kuala Lumpur on a MAS aircraft at 6am to undergo the matching process and organ transfer. "The organs must be transferred to the receivers within 24 hours. We are happy (with the success) because this is the first operation within three years," he told reporters at the Federal House Building, near here on Wednesday. He said the two recipients of the organs had been identified, one from Sabah and the other was on the waiting list (KIV). Sabah is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. However, Dr Adlan did not give further details on the identity of the donor nor the receivers. He said public awareness on the organ donation campaign was still low and hoped more individuals would come forward to donate their organs. Dr Adlan said that up to May this year, 15,395 people were on the organ waiting list for kidneys, and in Sabah alone, about 750 people had agreed to donate their organs. "We will carry out a campaign on organ donation in November and we hope to achieve the target of 1,000 people," he said. -- BERNAMA