Showing posts with label living organ donation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living organ donation. Show all posts

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Derma organ satu anugerah kehidupan

SAYA adalah pesakit buah pinggang semenjak 2001. Pada 5 Ogos 2010, ibu saudara saya telah mendermakan satu buah pinggangnya kepada saya. Alhamdulillah, selepas menjalani pembedahan pemindahan buah pinggang di Hospital Selayang, Selangor, kualiti hidup saya menjadi bertambah baik.

Lalu bicara ini ingin saya kongsi agar semua pembaca faham erti pendermaan organ. Nyawa adalah anugerah ALLAH SWT yang tidak ternilai dan tidak mampu dijual beli. Islam amat mementingkan penjagaan nyawa dan mengharamkan ia dicabut tanpa sebab yang sah mengikut syarak seperti dalam perlaksanaan hukum kisas (bunuh balas).

Beroleh kelonggaran

Dalam situasi mendesak, sesetengah hukum yang asalnya haram diberikan kelonggaran apabila bertembung dengan risiko menjaga nyawa. Seseorang yang terancam nyawanya dengan kelaparan yang teramat sangat diberikan rukhsah (kelonggaran) untuk menyentuh makanan yang asalnya haram pada kadar tertentu sahaja demi untuk menjaga kesinambungan nyawa.

Firman ALLAH: “Sesungguhnya ALLAH hanya mengharamkan kepada kamu memakan bangkai, darah, daging babi dan binatang yang disembelih tidak kerana ALLAH maka sesiapa terpaksa (memakannya kerana darurat) sedang ia tidak mengingininya dan tidak pula melampaui batas (pada kadar benda yang dimakan itu), maka tidaklah ia berdosa. Sesungguhnya ALLAH Maha Pengampun, lagi Maha Mengasihani.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 173)

Dengan nyawa di badan, seseorang mampu melakukan apa sahaja yang dikehendakinya tanpa batasan. Bagaimanapun, kebebasan ini tidak mampu dimiliki oleh sesetengah orang yang mengalami penyakit kronik seperti sakit jantung dan buah pinggang.

Penyakit yang mereka hidapi seolah-olah sudah mencabut sebahagian daripada nyawa dan kenikmatan hidup mereka. Hari yang mereka lalui menjadi suram dan menjejaskan produktiviti mereka sebagai seorang manusia, hamba Tuhan dan warganegara sesebuah negara.

Dalam konteks ibadah, pesakit kronik mengalami kepincangan kehidupan ibadah mereka kerana batasan fizikal yang mereka alami. Contohnya, pesakit buah pinggang yang bergantung kepada rawatan cuci darah berterusan tidak lagi mampu untuk menunaikan ibadah haji yang menjadi salah satu rukun Islam.

Walaupun ulama memberikan kelonggaran dan pengecualian kepada mereka daripada melaksanakan rukun Islam ini, namun jauh di sudut hati mereka kesedihan tetap dirasai kerana tidak mampu memenuhi tanggungjawab rukun Islam kelima ini.

Sedekah dalam Islam

Tidak kurang juga kesan sakit yang mereka alami menyebabkan kepincangan kepada produktivi negara kerana mereka ini sudah pasti salah seorang kakitangan kerajaan atau swasta yang diperlukan tenaganya untuk membangunkan negara.
Banyak sekali kita dapati pesakit kronik menemui ajal di usia muda atau menyerahkan borang persaraan sebelum waktu yang sepatutnya. Bayangkan kerugian modal insan yang dialami oleh kerajaan berikutan kepincangan ini. Di tengah kekecewaan ini, kita semua berpeluang untuk mengubah nasib mereka dengan anugerah tubuh badan sihat kurniaan ALLAH kepada kita.

Bantuan pendermaan organ bukan sahaja membantu para pesakit kronik ini sahaja bahkan turut membantu keluarga mereka dan yang jauh lebih besar membantu negara dengan mengembalikan tahap kesihatan mereka kepada tahap yang lebih baik untuk terus berkhidmat kepada negara mengikut kepakaran yang mereka miliki.

Melihat kepada fakta ini, sebenarnya anugerah organ yang diciptakan ALLAH sebenarnya mempunyai signifikan sosial yang cukup besar. Pendermaan organ boleh disifatkan sebagai kemuncak sedekah yang digalakkan Islam kerana ianya melibatkan anugerah nyawa kurniaan ALLAH.

Walaupun hanya sebahagian organ didermakan kepada yang memerlukan, namun ianya secara tidak langsung memberi sekelumit nyawa untuk sebuah penghidupan. Nyawa pastinya menjadi aset yang paling dihargai manusia kerana kehilangannya amat dibimbangi dan akan ditangisi.

Pendermaan organ juga mempunyai banyak kelebihan rohani yang tidak disedari oleh ramai orang. Organ yang didermakan bakal menjadi saham akhirat sekiranya penerima organ tersebut meneruskan bakti mereka kepada agama.
Setiap gerak laku ibadah seperti solat, zakat, puasa, haji, bakti kepada negara dan sebagainya pasti membuahkan saham kepada penerimanya kerana tanpa bantuan organ yang disumbangkan, si pesakit tidak akan mampu meneruskan hidup mereka secara sempurna ibadahnya.

Juga stigma bakal penerima organ itu terdiri daripada penganut agama lain. Seolah-olah nikmat kesihatan yang bakal diperolehi oleh penerima organ bukan Islam bakal menjadikan mereka bertambah teguh pegangan agama mereka dengan subahat organ yang didermakan oleh penderma Islam.

Sedekah dan pendermaan menurut Islam adalah buta agama dan warna kulit. Islam tidak pernah membataskan agama dalam isu sedekah kerana sedekah adalah tanggungjawab manusia manakala hidayah kepada Islam adalah hak mutlak ALLAH.

Orang yang terbantut hajat sedekahnya perlu memahami hak ALLAH dalam memberikan hidayah tidak boleh dicerobohi sama sekali. Pada penilaian ALLAH SWT, penderma akan mendapat pahala amalannya tetapi tidak akan menanggung dosa penerima sedekahnya walaupun si penerima sedekah menggunakan sedekahnya untuk menderhakai ALLAH.

Dengan kefahaman begini, saya berharap kebajikan akan tersebar dan Islam bertambah cantik pada mata semua tanpa mengira agama.


USTAZ ABDULLAH BUKHARI ABDUL RAHIM
Pensyarah Jabatan Tilawah al-Quran, Pusat Bahasa,
Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM)a

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

6 months after double-lung transplant, man runs 5K to inspire organ donation

Original post : Today.com
Exactly six months after undergoing a double lung transplant, Eamonn Kelly did what many with cystic fibrosis only dream about — he completed a 5K race.
"I just thought 'oh I had a transplant and I could do that,'" he told TODAY. "Then I realized it was a pretty big deal."
For four years, Eamonn Kelly, who has cystic fibrosis, depended
on oxygen 24/7. He could only do exercises where he could have his oxygen tank.

The idea to run a 5K came to Kelly as he recovered in the hospital; he wanted to do something to celebrate his new lungs. The 32-year-old science teacher ran in high school and college before his cystic fibrosis worsened, tethering him to an oxygen tank. He picked the Boston College Race to Educate 5K, which benefits his school, Saint Columbkille Partnership School, and that's when his wife, Elana Alfred, noticed something interesting. The April 30 date was exactly six months after his transplant.
"[When I] saw the significance of the date I wanted to do it," he said.
Six months after receiving a double lung transplant, Eamonn Kelly
ran a 5K, something he was unable to do for seven years before the transplant.
At birth, Kelly was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a rare genetic degenerative disease, which causes the mucous in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs to thicken and collect. This mucous build up in the lungs often leads to clogged airways and trapped bacteria, causing infections, which contribute to lung damage and eventual respiratory failure.
While treatments have extended the lives of people with cystic fibrosis, the average lifespan of a person who lives to adulthood with cystic fibrosis is 37. More than 33,000 people in the United States live with cystic fibrosis.
For four years, Kelly depended on oxygen to breath, seriously limiting his activities. He mostly walked and rode a stationary bike.
But he felt determined that life after surgery would be more active. As soon as he could, he started building up his strength. The day after his surgery he took about 40 steps. In the following days, he took more and more steps until he was walking around the hospital floor.
After leaving the hospital and starting rehab, he walked on the treadmill at a three miles per hour pace. After a week and a half, he tried running.
Thanks to a double lung transplant, Eamonn Kelly can join his
wife, Elana Alfred, on long hikes and not worry about lugging an oxygen tank.
"I churned up the speed for 10 miles per hour and I lasted for 10 seconds," he said. "That was way too hard."
His therapists suggested another approach — run for 15 seconds at a time, walk, then do another 15-second run. This built up his lung capacity and strength. Nearly a month after rehab, Kelly could run a quarter of a mile without stopping.
"It was so exciting to go from sort of measuring things in little second and minute increments to 'okay this is an actual distance,'" he elaborated.
Despite making steady progress, Kelly couldn't run three miles on the treadmill until a month before the race.
"Suddenly everything clicked and I was able to progress much faster," he said.
On race day, Kelly felt confident and finished the race in 38 minutes and 33 seconds, slightly longer than his personal record of 38 minutes.
Eamonn Kelly with wife, Elana Alfred, before Kelly received a
double-lung transplant to replace his lungs damaged by cystic fibrosis.
While doctors remain unsure as to how long the new lungs will extend Kelly's life, he's taking advantage of them. He and his wife hope to travel; Iceland and Japan are on their short list. They also want to buy a house and start a family. While running the race was a personal goal, Kelly hopes his 5K encourages others.
"I really want to inspire people to think about organ donation," he explained. "They would have the chance to give someone the same opportunity."
People interested in learning more about organ donation or signing up for it can do so here.
Original post : Today.com

Monday, May 23, 2016

Man's gift of love to girlfriend - a kidney

Original post from TheStar.com.my

Ng, a taxi driver, and Ms Chua, a part-time cashier, have applied for a flat and plan to marry in the next two years.ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM.
SINGAPORE: Ng Chai Lai dated his girlfriend for six years before popping the question in 2013. But instead of a marriage proposal, he offered her the gift of life - one of his kidneys.
Back then, Chua Bee Leng had been on the waiting list for a kidney transplant for 10 years after an autoimmune disease caused her kidneys to fail in 2004.
"I thought he was joking. I had already given up hope of receiving a kidney, as my family members were unsuitable. Who would have thought a boyfriend would do that?" said Chua, 47.
The transplant was done in December 2013. Such transplants, between people who are not family members, are few and far between.
The transplant was nothing less than a miracle due to three factors, said Ng, 47, a taxi driver.
First, the doctor told them that should they have wanted a transplant a few years earlier, it would not have been possible. Both had different blood types and it was only recent medical advancements that enabled the transplant to proceed.
Second, Ng was a former drug abuser who had been behind bars for close to 20 years. He first met Chua while undergoing rehabilitation at a halfway house, as she was visiting her brother, who was then also a drug addict.
Due to Ng's history of drug abuse, he had to get the nod from the authorities and a transplant ethics committee, as well as go through a battery of tests, before the transplant was approved.
Third, doctors found that one of Chua's coronary arteries was blocked and she needed heart bypass surgery before the transplant.
But the couple were willing to go through the obstacles as Chua had been in great pain while on dialysis. Several operations had to be done to create a fistula in her arms, legs, neck and thigh for blood to enter and leave her body during dialysis.
Serious infections kept setting in and she had to be hospitalised almost weekly. Ng recalled that her screams of pain were so loud that everyone in the ward could hear them. After her thrice-weekly dialysis sessions, she would be so weak that she could not walk home.
"The doctor said she did not have much time left and I made up my mind to give my kidney to her.
"I figured that even if my health fails after that, better to have two of us around for that short span of time than me having two kidneys yet end up losing her," said Ng.
Chua's quality of life improved greatly after the transplant.
She is now able to work as a part-time cashier. In her downtime, she jogs slowly or does brisk walking. Ng also recovered quickly. He said being a donor has not affected his health at all.
Both of them have since applied for a flat in Bukit Batok and intend to marry in the next two years.

Said Chua: "He made a noble sacrifice and I am forever indebted and grateful. Life is no longer the same now."