Chee Shi Yao Alicia, 16

School: Dunman High School

Topic: Are youths apathetic towards organ donation?

Award: First Place, Senior Category, 2021

A Seed of Love, A Gift for Life

Imagine your life turned upside down. The euphoria of life significantly diminished. What is left is the imminent debilitating conditions of organ failure and a stringent set of daily routines to adhere to. The malignancy of organ failure becomes ever so poignant. Organ failure, defined as the failure of an essential system in the body, induces an incessant sense of worry with each agonising palpitation amidst the long gruelling wait for a transplant. Organ donation is defined as the process of removing an organ from one person and surgically placing it in another. Perhaps organ failure and donation may seem like a foreign language to a sixteen, seventeen­ year-old bursting with bountiful dreams yet to be fulfilled and much yet to be uncovered in life. However, simply classifying youths as apathetic, uninterested or indifferent to organ donation due to their perceived ostensible lack of knowledge is far too extreme. In fact, a survey carried out by a group of students from Hwa Chong Institution revealed that youths, at 81.9 percent, were the most receptive to organ donation, compared to older Singaporeans, at 60.3 percent. Youths are open, receptive and passionate about organ donation.

Firstly, contrary to being apathetic, youths have become more involved and receptive to organ donation due to the abundance of accessible information online. The proliferation of information online in the technological and digital age has made information easily accessible and readily available at one’s fingertips. Organ donation organisations have utilised media platforms to create outreach and informative websites to connect with readers. From providing informative steps to lower the risk of organ failure to heart wrenching life stories of organ failure patients, exposing youths to the various facets of organ failure and donation. For instance, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)’s has put up interactive resources to impart new knowledge of organ failure and donation to people and promote a healthy sustainable lifestyle. Interactive features on their website includes the Game-On Challenge, a series of online games for people to have a go at, and fitness videos, posted for people to tag along. Additionally, opportunities are given to youths to contribute as a volunteer through programmes like befriending sessions in dialysis centres, which encourages youths to step out of their comfort zone to communicate, to provide solace to dialysis patients as they narrate their life-changing stories evoking indescribable sorrow, to be a listening ear and ultimately a friend in the patients’ darkest life moments. Apart from that, outreach projects to advocate for organ failure causes have also popularised among students. One such project is “Project Beans” by a group of Raffles’ Girls School students, which puts up weekly posts on their Instagram page and sends monthly newsletter on kidney health to their schoolmates to spread awareness on organ failure. These projects require youths to have a thorough and deepened understanding of the situation and given circumstances of organ donation. The many channels provided for youths to be personally involved would undoubtedly impact the views of youths towards organ donation in some way or another, as they embrace the challenges of a growing number of organ failure cases locally and rally on to support organ donation.

Secondly, contrary to popular belief that youths are apathetic, youths are attuned to organ donation due to the shift in mind-set when compared to older generations. Living in a diverse society, youths’ perceptions towards others, the society and towards their home would subtly be altered. Especially with organ failure rates seeing no signs of declining, organ failure would pose a major challenge in the foreseeable future. Kidney failure rates alone have hiked up from 1657 in 2013 to 1730 in 2014, and this number is growing with each coming year. Every five hours, one person needs a transplant or has to embark on dialysis on their route to recovery. To reverse the situation and put a halt to rising organ failure rates, steps have to be taken, and this is perhaps the factor that encourages youths to step up to help. In an Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) survey of young Singaporeans, 72 percent of respondents find it important to give back and help others. In other articles, more youths were found to be involved in community groups, including the 20,000 youths in the National Youth Corps Singapore. Considering the multitude of other volunteering outlets that youths can partake in, it would be out of doubt that the interactions with others and exposure to the less fortunate in society would shape one’s characters, to become active contributors with seeds of love and care sowed in their hearts. To put it simply, the new generation of youths are filled with passion, care and love for the people around them and I believe this would transcend to their unwavering support and devotion towards organ failure and donation.

Thirdly, the measures put in place towards organ donation and transplantation in Singapore has accustomed youths to become more aware and receptive to organ donation. Since 1987, the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) has taken effect. HOTA allows for the kidneys, heat, liver and corneas to be removed, for the purpose of transplantation, in the event of death from any cause. HOTA covers all Singapore citizens and permanent residents 21-years old and above, who are not mentally disorder, unless they have opted out. Being a measure on an opt-out basis, the majority of youths would likely be eligible for and involved in HOTA when they turn 21. As a result, most youths would have to familiarise themselves with the relevant knowledge to further deepen their knowledge on this governmental initiative and the cause that they are devoting themselves into. Apart from HOTA, the Medical (Therapy, Education and Research) Act (MTERA) is another avenue for youths to pledge their organs or any body parts for the purposes of transplant, education or research following death, thus is another option for youths thinking of actively giving back to society to improve the lives of others. The Ministry of Health’s imposition of these two acts and the efforts put in place to manage a high-risk organ transplant would likely build confidence and even garner support for organ donation from youths.

Opponents may argue that youths are apathetic because of their lack of information and their diminishing thirst to acquire new knowledge beyond the textbooks and rigorous school curriculum. One cannot deny that the Singapore education system is a steady overhaul of a pressure-cooking system, with strong emphasis on academics. Both the foundation of organ failures and the essential functionality of organs to sustain life are taught on the surface level as part of the school’s syllabus. Yet, only a handful of students would be spurred on to deepen their knowledge on organ failure, donation and transplantation through further research. Generalising this occurrence, opponents may perceive youths as ill-informed, ignorant and apathetic towards organ donation.

However, this argument fails to highlight the myriad of information channels, arranged through schools or external organisations, aimed to increase awareness in youths. While youths lose one source of information from self-directed online research, another door is opened to expose them to this escalating concern. For example, the National Organ Transplant Unit’s interactive sharing session to expound on the notion of organ donation and transplantation. With every donor, up to seven lives can be saved. Needless to say, every organ transplant is exceptionally precious to each organ failure patient as it is their ticket to be up on their feet, strong and healthy once again. Organ donation and transplantation thus have to be promulgated, to gain youths’ massive support for organ donation. Moreover, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) also educates youth by partnering with schools to deliver thought-provoking speeches, create interactive activities for students to partake in or even bring an actual dialysis machine for students to observe and learn from. The outreach efforts by these governmental organisations enlighten students and broaden their perspectives, giving them greater insights to the current situation, treatment methods, preventive measures against organ failure, as well as the support system, consisting of various volunteering options, that youths can participate in. The immense outreach efforts thus may cause youths to be influenced and be passionate about organ donation.

In conclusion, contrary to being apathetic, youths are open, receptive and passionate about organ failure. Though it may seem idealistic for every youth to be receptive to organ donation and form an ardent force to be reckoned with, there is no harm in attempting to influence more youths to join in on a patient’s tumultuous quest to defeat organ failure. These patients are all met with this pitch-black tunnel, which requires astounding audacity and abounding resilience and perseverance to navigate through, to cross the finishing line, to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every organ donated, every patient saved, every life changed is worth cherishing for every single organ failure patient deserves another shot at life.

Disclaimer: Please note that the views and opinions expressed in the essays for the Live On Festival 2021 are those of the participants and are not endorsed by the National Organ Transplant Unit (Ministry of Health).

To learn more about organ donation and organ transplantation in Singapore, please visit www.liveon.gov.sg