The Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and Davao Doctors Hospital (DDH) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Monday to promote organ and tissue donation from deceased individuals in the region.

The partnership aims to raise awareness about the life-saving potential of deceased organ donation while streamlining the process for identifying and managing donors in Davao City and the rest of Mindanao.

“This will help better patient management, ensuring that more lives can be saved by donation of vital organs and tissues from deceased individuals,” said Dr. Ma. Theresa Bad-ang, a nephrologist and head of SPMC’s Human Advocate and Retrieval Effort (SHARE), in an interview.

The agreement allows the two hospitals to collaborate by sharing resources, expertise, and best practices, enabling them to efficiently coordinate the identification, retrieval and management of organ and tissue donations.

Both institutions have committed to adhering to ethical standards, legal requirements, and medical protocols to safeguard the well-being of donors and recipients, Bad-ang added.

The initiative comes amid a growing need for organ donors due to the rising number of dialysis patients in the country.

According to Department of Health data, around 90,000 Filipinos were on dialysis treatment in 2022. In the Davao region alone, there are approximately 2,400 patients, with an annual increase of 12 to 15 percent.

The partnership signifies a broader effort to address the critical need for organ donors while improving patient outcomes through organ transplantation. (PNA)