DOH tells donors to live a healthy life

THE Department of Health reminded organ donor registrants during the recent "I'm a Lifeline" campaign to live a healthy lifestyle to ensure their organs are also healthy for donation.

DOH-R1 Assistant Director Dr. Benjamin Arca said organ donor registrants must live a healthy lifestyle and take good care of the body and the possible organs to be donated.

On Friday last week, the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center in the City of San Fernando in La Union was one of the six registration sites of the event, which aims to set the Guinness World Record for the most number of organ donation registrants in an hour and a day in a place.

Arca explained by taking care of the body and having a good living and lifestyle, the organs will also be healthy and the recipient of the donors will also be healthy as well.

If the body and the organs would be abused it could create a complication for the recipient, he said.

"We need to have a healthy lifestyle, a balance diet and take care of our health," said Arca. "Kasi kung hindi natin iniingatan ang kalusugan natin may mga parte ng katawan natin at mga organs na maabuso at maaring hindi na maidonate."

Arca also encouraged the donor registrants to explain to their family members why they joined the advocacy of donating organs. They should explain the importance and the need for organ donation to their family members.

Each potential donor receives an organ donor card that specifies what organ can be harvested in case he dies. The family members of the would- be- donor are the ones to decide if and when the organ donation will be done.

Arca clarified joining the organ registration does not make the person an automatic organ donor when he dies.

The campaign was organized by the Philippine Network for Organ Sharing (PhilNOS) under the Department of Health (DOH) with the Philippine Information Agency with the support of the local government units and other agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

DOH-PhilNOS coordinator Abigail Raposas said data from six separate sites where enlistment took place showed that Polytechnic University of the Philippines chalked up 3,548 signatures in an hour followed by San Fernando City in La Union with 2,981, Tuguegarao in Cagayan Valley with 1,134, followed by Davao City with 944, National Capital Region -- 788 and Naga City -- 725 for a total 10,120.

Meanwhile, the official Lifeline Facebook page showed a total pledge count of 17,856 in 8 hours for the six sites broken down as follows: PUP - 8,063 registrants; NCR, 1,270; La Union, 3,471; Naga, 1,532; Davao, 1,947, and Tuguegarao, 1,573. The Philippine record has yet to be validated by the Guinness World Records. (Redjie Melvic Cawis)

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