MINISTRY TO HOLD LARGE-SCALE ORGAN DONATION CAMPAIGN

SEREMBAN (Malaysia), Dec 4 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry will hold a
large-scale organ donation campaign to give the public a better understanding of
the benefits of organ donation.

Minister Li ow Tiong Lai said Thursday the number of individuals who pledge
their organs was still small and patients had to wait a long time for organ
transplants.

He said there were individuals who consented to donate their organs, but
after their death, the hospital faced difficulties in getting the organs because
of objections from their families.

"This campaign is not only to encourage the public to donate their organs
but also to educate the family members," he told reporters in this southern city
Thursday.

He cited the example of Tee Hui Yee, 15, who had to depend on a mechanical
heart for year before receiving a heart from a donor who had died in a road
accident.

Liow said the ministry had no plans to propose to the government to make
organ donation compulsory as is done in Singapore.

"We want to make organ donation a practice among the people. Let them do it
sincerely without being forced to. I believe that ours is a caring and
compassionate society," he said.
-- BERNAMA