PETALING JAYA: It will be more convenient for Malaysians to pledge to be organ donors via the MySejahtera app, if the app is maintained and continues to be used by the public after the Covid-19 pandemic, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

       The Public Awareness Action Committee for Organ Donation former chairman said those who have pledged to be organ donors will have a digital copy of the donor card in their app through the move.

       However, he pointed out that unless the government intends to retain MySejahtera as a permanent high-security Digital ID for all citizens, it will be forgotten or discarded once the pandemic is over.

       “I do not think that we have the will or resources to make it a permanent digital ID even if it is just limited to health status alone.

       “One of the reasons is that we have a dual healthcare system - public and private.

       “It would be great if the government comes up with a long-term plan to retain MySejahtera for Covid-19 or for all health-related matters including non-communicable diseases.

       “If there is room for other public health matters to be channelled through MySejahtera, it will be good too,” he said.

       Lee explained that previously, if a person is interested in pledging to be an organ donor, he or she must fill up a physical form and some people do not know where to get it and it is rather inconvenient.

       “It will definitely be easier if the public can pledge through the MySejahtera app.

       “However, they must also share the information with their family and loved ones.

       “In the past, we know of cases whereby people who had pledged to donate their organs but never informed those closest to them.

       “When the hospital finds out that they pledged to be organ donors when they died, the authorities will approach the family members and sometimes, the family refuses to allow the procedures,” he said.

       Meanwhile, Lee said while there is general public awareness about organ donation, there still needs to be a continuing and sustained public education and promotion campaign.

       “The public needs to be constantly engaged and fed with stories about the success of organ donation and transplantation.

       “The medical fraternity itself is not doing enough to promote organ donation.

       “Dialysis is now much more widely accessible and it is sometimes easier for the doctors and family members to just quickly settle with dialysis.

       “Living donor transplants can certainly be increased.

       “In the 1980s and 1990s, the living donor transplantation rate was higher as dialysis was not readily available.

       “We also do not have dedicated transplant surgeons. Kidney transplants in Malaysia are done by urologists who are already overwhelmed by urology work,” he added.

       In terms of incentives, Lee said there are already circulars to provide incentives like free medical treatment at government hospitals for living organ donors and the next-of-kin of the deceased organ donors.

       “I think we have not gotten into providing financial subsidies for funeral expenses of the deceased donor.

       “While this is out of the scope of public education and promotion - there also has to be incentives for the hospital, medical personnel and the related parties involved with identifying, managing potential organ donors and procuring organs.

       “Currently this is all done on top of their existing day-to-day duties,” he said.

       On March 5, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said an in-app function in MySejahtera to allow the public to register themselves as organ donors may be available soon.

       "Given that the rate of organ donation in Malaysia is one of the lowest in the world, we are trying our best to make it easier for people to register as donors.

       "As such, we are suggesting to include an in-app function on MySejahtera where users can pledge to donate their organs," he said when launching the 16th Annual Dialysis Conference 2022.