"Diamonds are not buried, because they are precious. Why should I bury my child's precious organs? "

The Cypriots…
 
They have shown their altruistic feelings many times and they know very well what true solidarity means. This is shown by the number of annual kidney donations from living donors, the number of bone marrow donor records and the number of blood donors. Although our Cyprus is in the highest positions in Europe in terms of living donors, post-mortem organ donation finds it in the lowest.

Why is Cyprus in last place in relation to posthumous donors? 
Is there a prejudice around the discussion of organ donation in the Cypriot family?

A few years ago a Cypriot mother who lost her child in a car accident…

 She decided to donate her son's organs and said: "Once, I do not remember where, I read about a mother who said: 'Diamonds are not buried, because they are precious. Why should I bury my child's precious organs? " and the "diamonds" from the lifeless body of her child, became a gift of life for some of our fellow human beings. This is exactly what I believe and this is exactly what I will do. I will make the most valuable gift that a person can offer to a person and I am sure that my son would also like that… ". 

The organs that can be transplanted are the kidneys, the heart, the liver, the lungs, the pancreas and part of the small intestine. Tissues and cells that can be transplanted are the skin, the bones, the cartilage, the heart valves, the cornea of ​​the eye, etc. 

It is important to note that… 

In Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium, everyone is automatically considered an organ donor. Australia has one of the highest rates of transplant success in the world and research shows that the majority of Australians support organ and tissue donation.

12 Cypriots answer the above questions. 

Christina Antoniou (Limassol): "Organ donation is neither a theory nor a slogan. It is a large part of a person's soul that is given to his fellow man. Can this "piece" be called a kidney, a heart…
Many times I read articles from people who were saved because of some other people who "left". One wrote: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart σας Your man lives in me… I will look after your child's liver like the apple of my eye. It's the most valuable thing I have… »
Yes! There is a great deal of prejudice surrounding the discussion of organ donation to the Cypriot family. I am in favor of this process. "

Eleni Dimitriou (Paphos): Cyprus is in the last places because most of us are afraid to touch on this issue and you can see that we all behave as if we are not interested and we have never been interested. The truth is that at some point I wanted to know more and read an article in which a tissue and organ donor asked the doctor if the donor was alive during the removal of his organs, and how the whole procedure was done. The doctor's answer was absolutely enlightening: "In order to be able to use a donor's organs, we must definitely remove them while he is still alive !!! And in order to be absolutely sure that he is not going to wake up, the anesthesiologist puts him under general anesthesia (!), In order to ensure the smooth progress of the operation ". If this is the truth… This is not murder? I hope that a proper information will be provided so that those of us who are interested can decide if we really want to become organ donors ".  

Emilia Karapassi (Xylotympou): "I have never thought about it όμως But I believe that most of us do not enter this process because they do not want any" part "missing from the body of their deceased. Certainly at that moment, the idea alone hurts them the most. Yes! it is not easy in practice. But I think when the mourning process is over, then you understand how beautiful it is for another person to live because of your decision… ".  

 Eleftheria Komodromou (Famagusta): "Cyprus is in the last positions regarding the posthumous donors, because there is no proper and continuous information of the citizens on the subject and because there is great difficulty in approaching the close / relatives of the deceased. 
  Most families have never discussed this issue with the deceased and do not know if their own person would like to donate his organs and surely, that is why they are so negative. 
 I am in favor of organ donation because that way, I would give life to another of my fellow human beings ". 

Panagiota Elias (Larnaca): "Unfortunately, as Cyprus, we are far behind in this matter. I do not believe that there is any discussion at home until we ourselves reach this position, that is, that someone in our family needs organs. This is the reason why we are in the last places. When we hear from the media that some of our compatriots donated organs, we congratulate them for being seen, while in conversations between us, we say: "Mikako may die in our family, but I would never donate organs of my own person". 

Tatiana Irakleous (Nicosia): "I believe that the reason that Cyprus is in the last places, in relation to posthumous donors, is the lack of education on the subject. Perhaps an intensive public awareness campaign on how many more lives could be saved would increase the number of posthumous donors. In addition to articles I have read in the past, I believe that the suggestion made earlier by the Ministry and provided that all adults will be potential cadaver donors unless they say otherwise to the contrary, is a very good idea, since again those who disagree are given the right to state it. 
I do not think that there is any prejudice in the Cypriot family regarding the discussion of organ donation. As a people we have shown many times our sensitivity for other fellow human beings (mainly for health issues). Many times thousands of people rushed to call for a bone marrow donor. The truth is that most of the time when people rushed en masse, it was about cases where the patient's identity was made public and this may cause each of us an identification and more sensitivity with the problem that someone else is going through. So again I believe that with the proper infrastructure and education of the public, things will get much better ".

Eleni Ioannou (Larnaca): "I have to admit that I am not informed about the issue of transplants… Unfortunately, I also follow the mentality of many Cypriots. However, I have often wondered what would happen if. If I were in the position of the donor or if someone of mine was in that position and I was asked to decide whether to donate organs. And somewhere here fear intervenes! And just when I think about it I get scared. Why are we talking about death! And I automatically drive that thought out of my mind. I did not bother to find out because I am biased around the issue of foretelling something about death when all is well. I'm ashamed to say it but that 's the truth. If, on the other hand, I or someone of mine was in the position of a candidate for a transplant recipient, everything would change there. And I would be informed and angry with others who are not informed. Avoiding information is a matter of taboo and prejudice. And since we do not take care to be informed, I think it is better to be informed. Otherwise this situation will continue. Maybe if there are information campaigns or if the media promotes the issue, something will change. It is a pity that lives are lost while they can be saved. A donor can give a transplant to 20 people, can give life, or improve the quality of life of a fellow human being. We are all potential donors but also potential recipients. So let's change our mentality for the good of us all. "

Christina Mattheou (Nicosia): "In my opinion, the main reason why we as Cyprus are in the last places in organ donation from posthumous donors, is the lack of information and education on this serious issue. Most people in Cypriot society learn about organ donation in the event of an incident in their immediate area or on television announcing after an accident that the organs of the deceased were donated. 
  I believe it is not a matter of prejudice but of ignorance. The issue of organ donation is a decision that everyone has to make for themselves in advance. There must be a law according to which every adult citizen will be able to decide if he wants to be a donor. It is not morally right after someone dies or is clinically dead to ask relatives to make such a decision. They put them in front of a huge moral dilemma ". 

Eleni Vlasiou (Larnaca): "It is a big issue ίζω I think we are in the last positions when it comes to organ donation because there is no proper education and information. Also, between members of a family, it will never be a topic of discussion because no one wants to believe that one of their own will suffer something bad. We have discussed it with my husband and we are in favor. " 

Pantelis Kleitou (Nicosia): "I believe that the prejudice comes from the wrong information on the part of the competent authority. 
 "I was personally concerned about the issue a few days ago, when I heard from a radio station about organ donation." 

Eleni Charalambous (Achna): "Cypriots in general are very generous people with a real interest in their fellow human beings and it is sad that Cyprus is in the last places in organ donation. I believe that the lack of information on the subject plays an important role. Let us not forget that the Orthodox faith is against this so the Cypriots as a deeply religious people, harmonize with the line of their faith. It is, I believe, a taboo subject for the Cypriot family-society ". 

Nikos Stylianou (Larnaca): "There is definitely a lot of prejudice around this issue and maybe because there is no proper information at all. "I am in favor of organ donation."