Cesar Yazbek
Staff Writer
Some aspects of the Lebanese society have come to the conclusion that the government pays no or low attention to social, economic, cultural and media growth on the Lebanese premises.
Accordingly, a wave of non-governmental organizations which aim to have a durable fingerprint on our social structure have been popping up across the Lebanese territory. Such initiatives reflect a rather high degree of engagement in the Lebanese society and a willingness to put in hours of efforts to make a change.
One of the most interesting of these NGOs that kick-started in the past decade is the National Organization for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (NOOTDT).
NOOTDT is one of the NGOs that has established a decade-long plan to which it stuck and achieved step by step.
Organ donation in itself is a purely altruistic behavior, one where a person picks to give life through their unexpected unfortunate death; it is one of the greatest gifts one can provide.
Today, NOOTDT has successfully established an organ donation network with a medical response team that makes sure the success is at its highest.
When you first enter their website, you notice a stream that cites all donations made in the past year or so.
Reading it gives you a feeling that just transcends and overrides all others.
The website tells the story of a young woman whose humanity has saved many in need. This young soul has donated a heart, two corneas, a liver and two kidneys to multiple patients, people she’s never met but who will be forever grateful to her, people who will be able to participate in life, have families, see their kids and maybe one day when the time comes also give back to society the same way they were given.
Directed change, based on a long-term roadmap in the hope of making a durable difference on a national level, is an initiative the Lebanese society should be supporting and calling out for.
Since the nature of the Lebanese structure is religious, NOOTDT consulted religious figures to confirm that the principle of organ donation was supported and accepted in the most prominent Lebanese religions.
By that, NOOTDT secured that it’s not offending any religion in the country.
The NGO then started legalizing the process through which organ donation could be enabled and worked on a law project in parallel with the Ministry of Public Health.
They drafted a law based on multiple successful international and foreign models, but modified it in a way to fit the social and cultural structure of our country.
This law was passed and is now one of the remarkable examples of legislative initiatives by non-governmental organizations in Lebanon.
It is now essential to raise awareness about the issue in the Lebanese society. In accordance with that, NOOTDT has been initiating crowdfunding and awareness initiatives across universities in Lebanon.
Their next conference will take place on October 30 at AUB Bathish auditorium, with a donor registration period in front of West Hall.
