DOH encourages more organ donors
By Mariesh F. Celedeña
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — As of June 19, 2025, the country has 456 candidates waiting for transplant, 437 of them are for kidney, 15 for liver, and four for lungs.
“Through the years the number of kidney transplant candidates has been growing and there are only four utilized donors for this year,” said Doctor Ronaldo R. Quintana, medical officer and program manager of the Philippine Organ Donation and Transplantation Program – Philippine Network for Organ Sharing (PODTP-PHILNOS), during the recent stakeholders’ convergence spearheaded by the Department of Health – Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) Caraga.
DOH-CHD Caraga encouraged the participants to be advocates and spread accurate information on organ and tissue donation so more people will express their intention to donate and save lives.
DOH-CHD Caraga emphasized that there is no age limit for organ and tissue donors and anyone can donate.
Organ donors can be living or deceased and the organ and tissues that they can donate are heart, kidney, liver, intestine, lungs, pancreas, corneas, bones, skins, tendons, ligaments, and veins.
In Mindanao, there are two zonal organ procurement organizations and they are responsible for recovering organs from deceased donors for transplantation, namely, the Southern Philippines Medical Center and Davao Regional Medical Center.
Meanwhile, the youngest donor in the country is a 3-year old child who was announced brain dead after a drowning incident. His two kidneys were donated and transplanted to a 24 year old, while his corneas were banked at the Eye Bank Foundation. He died as a hero saving the life of the recipient and changing the life of those who will benefit his corneas. (MFC, PIA Caraga)
