DOHA: On Qatar National Day, a Doha-based team will start their journey to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in the continent, to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation.
Michael Arbow, a Canadian working as a lecturer at the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar, is the father of a child born with cystic fibrosis.
His daughter, Elspeth, required a lung transplantation to save her life after her lung function deteriorated. Four years ago, thanks to modern medicine and the sacrifice of an organ donor, Elspeth received a double lung transplant. Today at 17 she is a college student and actively enjoying her first year at Canada’s University of Toronto.
This inspired Arbow and a team of fellow Canadians, including Lori Burns and Don Bastarache, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro; the rooftop of Africa.
At 5,895m, where the oxygen levels are less than half of what we breathe in Doha, the team will experience for a few hours what Elspeth experienced every day — the struggle for breath.
Attracted by a major campaign the Qatar Organ Donation Centre is conducting, Arbow approached Dr Raidh Fadhil, Director of the centre, to discuss the idea of dedicating this climb to help increase organ donation awareness in Qatar.
“For me and my team, this is a way of thanking all organ donors, raising awareness of the centre’s work and thanking the people of Qatar for the opportunities they have given me,” Arbow said.
Dr Fadhil said there was “no better way of thanking all organ donors and their families and raising awareness about organ donation” than taking the message to one of the world’s highest points.
“When Michael approached me and told me the story of his daughter and his wish to raise awareness of organ donation, I was deeply moved by his passion and motivation,” said Dr Fadhil.
“Breathlessness is a feature of many organ failures like lung, heart and kidneys and for this reason, the quest to the summit has been dubbed as ‘Breathless no More’.
Qatar has provided its multicultural community with a unique service in donation and transplantation that secures equitable allocation of organs and optimal social and healthcare for recipients and donors’ families, regardless of their nationality, race and religion. The Doha Model has won the respect and recognition of the international community.
You can follow Arbow and his team as they prepare and ascend Mount Kilimanjaro on the Facebook page “Breathless no More”, on Twitter #kiliclimbforodq or on the website: organdonation.hamad.qa
The Peninsula
