Guinness world record & Incredible Journey of Organ donation - United Arab Emirates
Priya S Santharaj1, Farhad Kheradmand Janahi2, A. Al Rais3, M. Al Rukhaimi4, A.H. Khamis5, D. Hickey2, Ali Abdulkareem Al Obaidli6, Maria Gomez7, Nujood Al khloofi8, Father. Davis Chiramel 9.
1Organ Procurement officer, Ministry of health and prevention, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 2Department of Surgery, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Health Care City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 3Dubai Health Authority, Government of Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 4Department of Medicine, Dubai Medical College, Al Mizhar, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 5Department of Biostatistics, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Health Care City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 6Chairman of UAE National Transplant Committee, SEHA Kidney Care, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 7The National Center for Regulating Donation and Transplantation of Humans Organs and Tissues, -, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 8President Office, Organ Donation and Transplantation Program, Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 9Catholic Priest, Founder of kidney federation of India, Kerala, India
Introduction: The set a new world record for the highest number of online organ donation registrations within a one-hour timeframe. More than 4,000 residents signed up for Hayat on Jan 31-2024.
Hayat which means life in Arabic is the National Programme for Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues, established in September 2020 under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Prevention -MOHAP.
Before the start of the online drive, there were 21,357 residents of various nationalities who registered in Hayat. After one hour, 4,010 more donors were added, and the number stood at 25,367 as, establishing a new world record for online donor registration.
Background: UAE-Organ donation in the United Arab Emirates was restricted until recently to living donation. This survey was conducted to explore the public knowledge, belief, and attitude regarding donation during life and after death.
Methodology: A 31-item survey was distributed among 900 participants of whom 495 completed the forms and were considered for further analysis.
Results: Among the participants, 293 -59.2% were women and 202 40.1% were men. With 8 items as the highest possible score, the mean score of knowledge was 4.42 SD = 1.54 and 436 (88%) of the participants knew about a brain-dead condition. However, their awareness on organ donation and transplantation legislation in the UAE was not consistent, and less than 198 (40%) had correct knowledge in this regard. Religious belief regarding organ donation was scored at 80 and the mean of the beliefs score obtained was 56.56 SD = 6.39. Together, 369 (74.6%) of the participants had positive religious sentiments regarding the issue. Participants' attitude toward organ donation and transplantation was scored at 14.7 out of 20 possible score (SD = 2.46) with 396 -80% acknowledging the fact that organ donation and transplantation prolongs and improves recipient's quality of life.
Limitations: The small number of respondents (n = 495) in the survey was a limitation of the study.
Conclusions: The population of the UAE was moderately well informed and motivated about organ donation and transplantation. Although a knowledge gap about the current legislation prevailed, most of the participants were knowledgeable, they nurtured positive beliefs, and had compassionate attitude regarding lawful organ transplantation.
