SOUTH AFRICA— Organ donation is misconceived in Africa, where many perceive it as aganist the norms of practise, both on religious and cultural reason, and a group of tech-savvy medical students from Stellenbosch University want to change this narrative.

Harnessing the power of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), Save7, the medical students’ organization, seeks to raise much-needed awareness of organ donation in South Africa and hopefully in time across the continet. 

The non-profit organisation founded by students, aims to share the message that every South African of the potential to save seven lives by donating their kidneys, heart, and lungs after they die.

Third-year medical student, Jonty Wright (20), founded Save7 after meeting patients in a hospital who were desperately awaiting organs.

Wright adds that the situation he saw was dire since there was nothing more doctors could do for the patients, literally waiting to die, he felt that something felt deeply wrong with that, and he knew he had to do something.

Leveraging technology, he first built a website to raise awareness and then taught himself to program an AI chatbot to answer questions about organ donation in South Africa.

Wright then brought the Save7 brand to life with bold designs and a conversational style that appeals to a young, digital-savvy audience.

“Awareness about organ donation is especially low among the younger generation. We needed to make this difficult topic easier for the public to engage with, so we focused our narrative more on ‘multiplying life’ in the present, than on thinking about death in the future,” Wright rationalized.

In addition to providing information and answering questions, Save7 has also partnered with the Organ Donor Foundation of South Africa to allow users to register as organ donors in less than a minute.

Wright adds, “You can use Save7.org to sign up and leave a personalized message for your next of kin, which, along with your signature, creates a legally recognizable testament of your commitment to donate your organs. The entire process takes less than a minute and is free. This is a first in South Africa!”

Reaching one million South Africans

The crew is currently running a campaign that aims to reach over one million South Africans by the end of August, which is internationally recognized as Organ Donor Month.

Moreover, since its inception, Save7 has developed backend data systems that simplify the complex administrative processes involved in transplant referrals, and patient support groups.

Wright pointed out, “As you dive deeper into the organ-donation ecosystem in South Africa, you discover that there are many gaps for potential donors to fall through, such as inefficient referral systems, lack of centralized databases, and poor patient support, to name a few.”

Subsequently, Save7 has teamed up with VulaMobile to create an easy-to-use referral portal for doctors to refer potential donors to transplant units.

The Save7 team also established the first renal patient support group at Tygerberg Hospital, which now boasts 50 members.

“Our goal with the support groups is not only to provide a much-needed community for our patients but to create a framework that other public hospitals can use to follow in our footsteps,” said Naazim Nagdee, Save7’s vice-president.

A surgeon’s testimonial on the brilliant invention

Elmin Steyn, transplant surgeon and head of surgery at Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital is full of praise for her students’ initiative.

 “It is heartwarming to see compassionate young medical students deploy AI technology and social media to help the less fortunate. This campaign has the potential to boost organ donation not only in South Africa but worldwide. Everyone should support it,” Dr. Steyn commented.

Dr. Steyn recognizes the group’s effort and goal to create a system that can easily be replicated and implemented by other students, doctors, and transplant coordinators worldwide.

Sachen Naidu, Save7 treasurer said, “We’re striving for a plug-and-play solution. This mission involves meticulously documenting their progress, analyzing what strategies proved effective and what fell short. They aim to provide structural and organizational templates that could aid future organ-donation initiatives across the continent.”

“We were inspired by the principle of open-source software since it lays out the basic framework for others to copy and paste to their own unique environments,” Naidu explained.

The Save7 team believes that by sharing its campaign experiences in a developing country, it can simplify the process for others in similar situations.

Save7 is endorsed by the South African Transplantation Society, Mediclinic, the Organ Donor Foundation, as well as Stellenbosch University.

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