South Africa: Organ Donation Gave Matthew a Second Chance At Life

What the report says

Health-e News, republished by AllAfrica, profiles organ transplant recipients in South Africa to mark National Organ Donor Awareness Month and highlight the continuing shortage of donors. The main story follows Matthew Legemaate of Gillitts in KwaZulu-Natal, who was born with a serious congenital heart condition and spent years on oxygen while waiting for a heart and double-lung transplant. He eventually received the transplant in October 2017 at Busamed Gateway Private Hospital in Umhlanga after years of treatment and time on the waiting list.

Legemaate says the operation gave him a different path in life. The article says he is now 27, cycles, takes up photography and is close to completing training to become a professional chef. It presents his recovery as an example of how organ donation can restore independence and open up everyday activities that were not possible when he was ill.

The article also features Marilee Chananie of Pinetown, who lives with Type 1 diabetes and received a kidney and pancreas transplant in 2014. Her kidney later failed and she returned to dialysis in 2023 while waiting for another kidney, though her transplanted pancreas is still working. She continues to work and remain active. The piece says she has completed hundreds of dialysis sessions since restarting treatment.

Beyond the individual cases, the article says transplant specialists and donor advocates at a Durban tribute event stressed that South Africa still faces major gaps in donor awareness, referrals and access. It notes that the shortage is especially acute in the public health system and that many people remain on transplant waiting lists. As background, organ donation can involve deceased or living donors, and tissue donation can also include corneas, skin and bone.