August is National Organ Donor Awareness Month and Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital is appealing to the public to embrace the gift of life through organ donation.

Luke van Aarde, 17, of Strandfontein, is among those who was given a second chance at life through organ donation.

When Luke was diagnosed with kidney failure at the age of 2 in 2009, his father, Randall, gave him one of his, and in 2019, at the age of 12, Luke received another kidney from his mother, Carol.

“All of us have this opportunity, no matter whether it’s your family member, a neighbour or a stranger who needs your help. If you had the chance to give someone else a second chance in life, what would you do?" says Randall. “I encourage people all the time to become donors, and we share my son’s survival story as an example of what organ donation can do. You can save many lives by getting involved.”

Luke is turning 18 this year, and Randall says he is thankful to the children's hospital for all its support over the years.

“I can only compliment Red Cross. They have been with us every step of the way since Luke’s birth. We talk about what the health-care workers did and still do for us and all those in need of help, and we also talk about how organ donation makes a difference to our family, friends and neighbours,” he says.

According to the children’s hospital, there are at least 20 children are on the waiting list for solid organ donations.

“Your decision to become an organ donor can be a beacon of hope for seriously ill children and adults. I encourage all people to embrace this opportunity to give someone in need a second chance,” says hospital CEO Dr Anita Parbhoo.

Professor Mignon McCulloch, president of South African Transplant Society, adds: “The act of donation literally saves lives and gives people a second chance in life, and this is especially important in children who may wait for many years, taking away their childhood which makes them hospital dependent and unable to be part of their family or go to school regularly.”

Red Cross has performed 30 kidney transplants, 10 liver transplants, three heart transplants and one lung transplant over the past three years, and last year, 18 children received bone marrow transplants at the hospital.

Professor Marc Hendricks, a paediatric oncologist at Red Cross, says a blood test is all that is needed to see if someone is potential match for a patient needing a bone marrow transplant.

“Many people are under the impression that they have to donate physical marrow, which is not true. A peripheral blood sample gives us all the information we need to know if you are a potential match for someone looking for a bone marrow donor.”

For more information on becoming an organ donor, call the Organ Donor Foundation’s toll-free line at 0800 22 66 11 or visit odf.org.za. Or go to sabmr.co.za to find out how you can become a bone marrow donor.

Visit this title’s online edition for direct links to the relevant sites.

Some members of the organ transplant team at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital.

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Give someone a second chance at life