Pass The Baton By Cornéia Mühlberger de Preux

Can you imagine a more generous gesture than donating your organs to enable others to live? Yet, the taboo remains to be broken. This is what the Foundation Pass The Baton is working on.

The Foundation Pass The Baton was born from a beautiful story, sad and happy at the same time. In early 2002, Pascale Lilla loses her son Denis (19) in a car accident. Denis had expressed his wish to donate his organs if something should happen to him. Upon his death, his family respects this choice, enabling seven persons to live again. Among them, there is Jem who receives the heart from Denis. Thanks to this immense present, he retrieves his independence. On 14th October 2002, Pass The Baton was born. Pascale Lilla quits her job to fully dedicate her activity to the Foundation.

Her mission?
Promote organs donation through information and sensitivity campaigns and create an electronic data base registry listing exhaustively all potential donors. As of now, there is no centralized registry and our country still does not have a Federal law for taking and transplanting organs in the field of organs donation. Such registry will be accessible to all hospitals and to all people concerned. The Foundation relies on the support of some 50 volunteers located in all corners of the French speaking Switzerland (Suisse Romande).

Sandra Ogay’s voice to convince

Sandra Ogay (35), two children lives in Vionnaz (Valais). She works as pharmacist assistant. She has luckily never been confronted with organs donation, be it on the side of the donor or of the receiver. She is like everybody else and hopes never to need it. However, she thinks that organs donation is of concern to all of us and she knows that “what only happens to others” may, some day, fall upon you. She read the story of Denis in Femina and it opened her eyes. For her “it is such a simple exchange, so obvious”. Therefore, she fully engaged in the Foundation; she works in the office; gives conferences; keeps booths in markets; coordinates the Valais team. She would like organs donation to be talked about as easily and as often as AIDS is being talked about. Regarding advices, she insists on the fact that the will of the defunct must be respected and, as much as possible, not to decide under stress. She says to people hesitating to take the step: “If my child would need an organ, would I be ready to accept one?”. She adds: “Accepting signifies agreement to donating…”

Switzerland lagging back

Each one of us has twenty times more chances of becoming an organs receiver than risks of becoming a donor. Whilst Switzerland is a leading country in surgery and transplantation, the number of donors is particularly low. In 2002, there were only 75 donors, i.e. 10.4 persons per one million heads, against 1137 patients registered on a waiting list! With this low percentage, Switzerland shows a poor face in Europe, where it ranks in the penultimate position. Thanks to a national campaign, Spain ranks first with 27 donors per one million heads. Belgium follows with a ratio of 21.7 and a centralized registry allowing contact between donors and receivers. Back to Switzerland, 80% of the population consulted is favourable to organs donation. Yet, only 10% of them carry a donor’s card which permits taking of organs in case of death, and the family can still make opposition.

Fondation "Passez le Relais"
P.O. Box 90 - CH-1816 Chailly-Montreux
Tel. +41 21 964 19 15 - Fax +41 21 964 19 26

www.passezlerelais.org
info@passezlerelais.org
Donations: « Passez le Relais » Banca del Gottardo Lausanne
Account N° CD 648 949.02, clearing 8613, CCP 69-6966-7

Swisstransplant
www.swisstransplant.org

Association "Les As de Cœur"
www.as-de-coeur.ch

Fondation Registre Suisse des Donneurs de Moelle
http://www.knochenmarkregister.ch