Organ Donation Innovative Strategies for Southeast Asia: ODISSeA

Abstract

Introduction: ODISSeA -Organ Donation Innovative Strategies for Southeast Asia is an Erasmus+ project funded by the European Commission. The objective is to design and implement an academic postgraduate program on organ donation (OD) in 8 Southeast Asian (SeA) universities from Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines & Thailand and 3 universities from European Union (EU). SeA has the lowest organ transplantation rate and highest growth rate of people entering end-stage organ failure. The number of deceased donors per million population (pmp) in 2017 was 1.10 in Malaysia, 0.45 in Philippines and 4.27 in Thailand while Myanmar has no deceased donation program. ODISSeA feeds from previous EU projects in establishing postgraduate programs in OD which includes EMPODaT (European-Mediterranean Postgraduate Program on Organ Donation and Transplantation) and KeTLOD (Knowledge transfer and leadership in Organ Donation).Method: In the first phase, a diagnosis analysis is conducted through questionnaires to university personnel, faculty and potential students to assess existing OD training programs, digital literacy, access, awareness and attitude towards OD. The second phase consists of a "Train the Trainers" blended program to future SeA trainers (5 faculty per institution). SeA & EU experts will then develop and implement the postgraduate program (35 students per institution) of 30 ECTS credits (750 study hours). The program employs online training, projects, informative events and seminars. Self-assessment activities, Pre and Post Training assessment will be used to evaluate students. Result: The postgraduate academic program will provide a common framework for 8 SeA Universities to develop learning strategies corresponding to specialized knowledge in OD, in accordance with European Space for Higher Education guidelines. Upon completion, a diploma accredited by SeA universities will be issued. Conclusion:ODISSeA is an innovative initiative to establish recognized academic training in OD in 8 SeA universities, following best practices from previous Eras-mus+ educational projects in OD & successful European models.

A Multiethnic Asian Perspective of Presumed Consent for Organ Donation: A Population-Based Perception Study

“…For instance, training programs including the European Donor Hospital Education Programme (35) and the Donor Action Program (36) are designed to help improve transplant staff 's language use and dialogue skills regarding organ donation which can influence relatives' decision to assent. Currently, most programs stem from Europe (37) in stark comparison to Asia where there is a lack of such measures (38), with the exception of the 2019 Organ Donation Innovative Strategies for Southeast Asia program (39). Considering that familism and filial piety reign strong as cultural features of Asian societies as compared to Western societies (40,41), provision of family-based organ donation services to facilitate early familial discussions about donation intentions should be considered in Asian nations.…”