‘Passez le Relais’, the Montreux based association, created by Pascale Lilla, is celebrating its second birthday today.

'There exists a great lack of information concerning organ donation.’

The association ‘Passez le Relais’ has existed for 2 years now. Even if the new Swiss law is not as far-reaching as the organisation may wish, its primary objectives remain: promoting the donation of organs, spreading information and creating a list of donors.

2 years of existence for ‘Passez le Relais’. This birthday coincides with the topical arrival of a new law concerning organ transplants. Can we call this law a birthday present for the organisation? Not for Pascale Lilla. According to the founder of the Montreux based organisation, Switzerland still has a major problem to resolve: the fact that there is still no enrolment for organ donation. ‘Those in need of organs are listed but not those who are ready and willing to donate! Greater access to this information, along with better organisation, would allow families to accept the donor’s wishes more readily; even more so if the decision has been taken in a rational and premeditated manner rather than in the face of an emergency resulting from a dramatic incident. The primary shortcoming of this new law is that it does not allow a decision in anticipation of the event but requires family members to make decisions when they are suffering extreme emotional pain.’ Pascale Lilla is speaking from experience. In January 2002, her 19-year-old son, Denis, died as a result of injuries incurred in a car accident. By choosing to respect the wishes of her son, she allowed 8 people to benefit from a transplant. Several months later, Pascale Lilla left her job in order to set up the organisation ‘Passez le Relais’. Her goal was clear: to increase the promotion of organ donation and above all to provide a donor card with information linked to a computer-based register. ‘We would like to create an official register,’ explains Pascale Lilla ‘with the goal of having a common health card rather than the individual systems created by each separate health insurance company.’

 

Action is initiated at several levels:

‘Passez le Relais’ is not only pushing for the creation of a register but also for the wider distribution of information concerning organ donation. During its first year of existence, ‘Passez le Relais’ gave over sixty public talks in schools and other establishments. Amongst those invited to present their view of the problem were doctors, life-savers and ambulance workers. There are volunteers who have joined the organisation to offer their time and expertise, like Nathalie Blanc, an accountant, who has been working there for the last 18 months. ‘I heard about the organisation through word of mouth and decided to invest my time in helping them. As for the new law, I am deeply disappointed that political authorities have refused to mention donors on their driving licenses. ‘Passez le Relais’ also employs Liliane Perraudin as part-time secretary. The Swiss French Lottery has provided financial support to the organisation. ‘It is thanks to this help that we are able to begin creating our computer-based list,’ remarks Pascale Lilla. She adds that there are many people who visit the organisation’s web site and who willingly express their point of view in the site’s discussion forum. ‘We are always happy to accept volunteers and on the political front we are trying to raise awareness of our cause among local and national government members as well as being active in the Department of Health.

It is our role to emphasise the importance of providing people with clear information as to how they can communicate their willingness to be donors, as often they do not know who to contact.

 

www.passezlerelais.org article in ‘La Presse Riviera Chablais 14.10.04