Johannesburg – Patients in South Africa’s hospitals are dying while waiting for life-saving organ transplants, as the country faces an acute shortage of donated organs.
According to the Department of Health, more than 6 500 people across the country are currently on transplant waiting lists. The highest demand is for kidneys, with over 2 300 patients still waiting for transplants as of 2022. Gauteng alone accounts for more than 1 100 people hoping for a kidney.
A doctor who spoke to The Citizen said the situation had reached a crisis point. “People are dying while waiting for organs. It is heartbreaking to watch patients deteriorate knowing that the only thing that can save them is a transplant that may never come,” she said.
Democratic Alliance health spokesperson Michéle Clarke has urged government to act swiftly and develop a national strategy to encourage organ donation. “The situation is terrible, and my heart goes out to patients and their families. The shortage of donated organs is deeply saddening,” Clarke said.
She attributed the low donation rate to several factors, including cultural and religious beliefs, limited awareness, and mistrust of the healthcare system. “Many families worry that their loved ones’ organs could be trafficked or sold illegally,” she said.
Clarke also called on health professionals to improve communication with families at hospitals, particularly in cases involving brain-stem injuries, where organ donation is most viable. “Families often equate donating the organs of a brain-dead relative with killing them, even though the person is already medically deceased,” she explained.
A study published in the South African Medical Journal described chronic kidney disease as a growing public health concern, driven by the combined effects of HIV, tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.
Doctors say that a healthy individual can donate certain organs and still live a normal life, but few South Africans are registered donors. Efforts to raise awareness and encourage registration remain limited.
Health department spokesperson Foster Mohale did not respond to questions on what measures are being taken to address the shortage.
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