The country is in dire need of more organ donors especially kidney donors, said National Organ Donation Awareness Action Committee chairperson Lee Lam Thye.

He said greater awareness on this was necessary because the increasing number of cases of people with end-stage kidney failure (ESKD) was worrying.

"The latest statistics show more than 22,000 patients with kidney failure are awaiting kidney transplant.

"Although kidney transplants have been done in the country for the last 40 years, the transplant rate in Malaysia is among the lowest not only in the world but Asean countries as well,” he said in a statement today.

He added that the transplant rate was on the downtrend each year and this indirectly influenced many patients to opt for transplants illegally abroad which put their lives in danger.

He urged Malaysians to change their perception on kidney donation saying there were no health risks to donors besides it being a noble thing to do.

-- Bernama