WATCH: Pretoria family, friends ride for Belinda to create organ donation awareness
Pretoria family and friends are running races to raise awareness of organ donations.
A Pretoria family and friends are running races to raise awareness of organ donations.
The group of “organ donor warriors” ran a 5km “rookie” race with 15 obstacles at Riversands Farm Village in the Toyota Warrior Race on Saturday.
The warriors included their supporters, live organ donors, transplant survivors, patients awaiting transplants, and those who have lost a loved one awaiting a transplant.
Bernadine Blom, the organiser of the Ride for Hope campaign, which raises awareness of organ donation, said the campaign began after her mother Belinda Blom was diagnosed with renal failure in 2007.
“My father Braam Blom then started the long journey in search of a donor. Repeated tests were done to determine if he was a match.”
READ MORE: UPDATE: Kidney donor creates organ donation awareness
Bernadine said on 30 November 2012, Braam (52) donated a healthy kidney to Belinda and the transplant took place.
“The following year Belinda became ill and the kidney function deteriorated. Belinda was back on dialysis in 2013.”
Belinda is still on dialysis three times a week and still on the waiting list for a kidney, Bernadine said.
Braam started the Ride for Hope, cycling from Pretoria to Cape Town on a mountain bike to create awareness of organ donation and grow the donor registry.
Braam was accompanied and supported during the better part of the campaign by Bernadine.
Bernadine said 1800 new organ donors registered last year but Braam felt more needed to be done.
“Sadly many more organ donors are needed to address the shortage in SA,” she said.
“It is estimated that fewer than 0.2% of the population are registered, and currently over 4 300 adults and children are awaiting organ and corneal transplants in South Africa.”
Bernadine estimated that fewer than 600 people would receive a “gift of life”, a transplant, this year, due to the critical shortage of donors.
“Tragically many children and adults die while waiting for a lifesaving transplant, while others have to undergo dialysis treatment for many years on the waiting list.”
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