JOHOR BARU: The Health Ministry's Organ Donation Awareness Promotion Action Committee is confident of exceeding one per cent of the country's 30 million population for organ donation pledges.
Its chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said that statistics from the National Transplant Resource Centre is showing the number of organ pledgers is increasing.
"The awareness among Malaysians is improving," he said after closing the Johor Baru Organ Donation Promotion Campaign Roadshow at Plaza Pelangi here today.
Also present was veteran politician Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad who was also announced as the Johor ambassador for organ donation awareness.
From the data made available until Aug this year, Lee said the number of registered organ pledgers is 264,638 since the campaign started in 1997.
"For this year alone, 16,767 persons pledged to donate their organs," he said.
The long-time social activist said a limited supply of organs continues to hinder organ transplantation around the world and Malaysia is no exception.
Lee said a significant percentage of potential organ donors are lost either to medical failure, or through an inability to obtain consent for donation.
Meanwhile, Shahrir said it was important to educate the younger generation on the benefits of pledging their organs for donation.
"I hope to contribute to this new role by working closely with the other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and promoting the cause," he said.