Under the umbrella of its #FestivalCares initiatives, Doha Festival City is hosting an organ donation drive and awareness campaign led by Hamad Medical Corporation’s Organ Donation Centre

Doha, Qatar – 26, July 2022: Doha Festival City, Qatar's one and only international choice for shopping, dining, and entertainment, is hosting an organ donation drive and awareness campaign led by Hamad Medical Corporation’s Organ Donation Centre throughout the month of July. 

The campaign, organised under the umbrella of the mall’s #FestivalCares programme, aims at educating visitors on the importance of organ donation, and facilitating the registration of interested organ donors. A booth manned by Hamad Medical Corporation’s Organ Donation Centre is set up by the square node on the mall’s ground floor where guests can visit to avail awareness brochures and materials regarding the importance of organ donation and of being an organ donor in Qatar. The booth will be available throughout the month to continue spreading awareness about this life-saving procedure.

Robert Hall, Doha Festival City’s General Manager, said: “At Doha Festival City we continue to support local health initiatives as part of our commitment to the community in Qatar. We are proud of our continued partnership with Hamad Medical Corporation and are delighted to provide a platform for promoting health awareness and facilitate drives that support saving lives in Qatar. We encourage people to visit the booths and learn more about the organ donation to make an informed decision on registering as an organ donor”.

According to the organ donor registry, a national, confidential list of individuals who have agreed to donate their organs after their death, there are currently more than 470,000 registered organ donors from over 100 nationalities in Qatar. HMC aims to increase this number to more than 500,000 this year. This number constitutes around 25 percent of Qatar’s adult population.

The organ donor registry can be accessed in the event of a death to see whether an individual has registered their willingness to be an organ donor. Qatar has a single waiting list for organ transplantation with unbiased access to transplant services.

Director of Qatar Organ Donation Center (Hiba) Dr. Riadh Fadhil, said Qatar aims to become self-sufficient in organ donation and this can be achieved with continued  widespread community support.

“At the Doha Festival City booth, our highly trained multicultural team educators help inform the public about the great impact of organ donation on the health of the community,” Dr. Riadh said.  “Our educators provide them the opportunity to register as an organ donor after life and provide them of a donor card if they wish.” 

“An organ transplant can be a life-saving procedure and can significantly improve the quality of life for someone with chronic organ failure. These life-saving organs come from deceased donors who have pledged during their lifetime to give their organs to someone in need,” Dr. Riadh said. “A deceased organ donor can save up to eight lives - whoever saves a life, it is as if he saved the whole mankind” (Quran 5-32). Having high profile support like Doha Festival City will further ensure Qatar will become self-sufficient in organ donation. We would like to thank Doha Festival City for their commitment.”

As part of its robust CSR programme and its #FestivalCares initiatives, Doha Festival City is committed to empowering and supporting the community in Qatar by building partnerships with various government entities and local organizations to support campaigns that promote cultural, environmental, health, and humanitarian awareness. 

In line with the preventative measures set out by the State of Qatar to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and to ensure a safe shopping environment for all, Doha Festival City commits itself to continuous necessary health and safety measures throughout the mall. This includes a thorough mall disinfection treatment on a weekly basis, robust cleaning, and sanitization operations during mall trading hours, 127 hand sanitizing stations installed in the areas that have commonly touched surfaces.