QUEZON CITY, Philippines – The Department of Health reminded the organ donors who registered during the recent “I’m a Lifeline” campaign to live a healthy lifestyle to make sure that their organs are also healthy when it would be donated.
DOH-Region 1 Assistant Regional Director Dr. Benjamin Arca said that organ donor registrants should live a healthy lifestyle and must always 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 that 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 that joining the organ registration does not make the person an automatic organ donor when the 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 the other agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
