Viral Organ Donor Tweet Sees Real Time Spike In Pledgers, KKM Reminded To Be More Proactive
A tweet sparked massive reactions and discussions on the subject of pledging as an organ donor.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates.
With data and information now available in real time, a seemingly simple tweet has probably singlehandedly led to a spike in organ donor pledges.
It all started on 28 November at just after 8am.
Twitter user Siti Athirah Md Yusof @attyusof asked followers to help her make her mind up about pledging as an organ donor.
The make-up artist said she had always wanted to pledge but everytime she wanted to register as an organ donor through the MySejahtera application, she had doubts.
This tweet sparked massive reactions and discussions on the subject of pledging as an organ donor.
As for Siti Athirah, it did not take her long to be convinced as she shared a screenshot of her pledge at 2.22pm the same day.
On the subject of donating, another Twitter user raised the issue of consent, advising those who have pledged to make sure they keep their next of kin in the loop.
This is because there have been cases where family members did not consent to a deceased’s organs being harvested despite the deceased having pledged as an organ donor.
The matter mostly goes back to religious concerns.
There is still a stigma attached to donating organs after death, for example amongst the Muslim community, despite religious authorities having said it is encouraged.
Real time results
If we look at data from KKMNOW, from 1 January to 27 November 2024, there were only three dates where daily pledges were between 100 and 200. The other dates recorded double digit pledges.
While we can’t say for certain that the tweet directly caused a spike in pledges, 28, 29 and 30 November saw pledges jump to 243, 471 and 162 respectively.
On 1 December, there were 231 new pledges.
Twitter user @thevesh remarked that the Health Ministry should take note of this remarkable progress and improve their outreach programmes.
Because of this single tweet + replies (probably), organ pledges have spiked to almost 10x higher than at any point in 2024.
— Thevesh (@Thevesh) November 30, 2024
1) Tahniah @attyusof for pledging, and for sparking a super important discussion!
2) @KKMPutrajaya take note – you have a HUGE pool of untapped potential… https://t.co/JB1ssPhCio pic.twitter.com/m54AnNn8Ae
How to pledge
Assuming someone is totally new to pledging as an organ donor, they would most likely turn to Google.
We tried searching for “daftar derma organ”.
Among the top results is a .pdf poster by the Health Ministry titled “Daftar Sekarang, Jadilah Pengikrar Penderma Organ“.
There is a website in the poster www.agiftolife.gov.my. This website no longer exists.
So if you tried going down that road, take note that the ministry has moved its Jom Ikrar organ donor pledge to the MySejahtera application.
It is the first icon you’ll see on the main page.
The questions are mostly about your next of kin, considering they will be the ones responsible for your remains upon your passing.
If you decide to pledge, make sure you inform your family members and impress upon them that this is your wish and it would be best if they honoured it once you’re gone.
While the conversation may prove to be difficult, there are various websites online that have dissected this matter in depth for you to use as references.
Share your thoughts with us via TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Threads.
