October 13, 2008
Students work to increase organ donations in Paraguay
By Claire Gould
A group of students sit at a mall food court
in Paraguay wearing t-shirts with drawings of
exposed organs. Their message: “Here you
have the chance of life.”
It's a message Andrea Burt '09 and Jazmin
Acuña Cantero '11 , both natives of Paraguay,
want to make sure is heard loud and clear.
This summer, they formed a group called
“Organs for Peace” to raise awareness about
the importance of organ donation.
Organ donation is a taboo subject in their
home country, Burt says, and citizens are
often unaware of the importance of organ
donation. In fact, Paraguay has the lowest
index of organ donation in Latin America -
just three donations per million residents or
an average of 18 donations a year - so most
transplant recipients must leave Paraguay to
find a donor.
Burt learned first hand about the
importance of organ donation years ago when
her uncle needed a compatible heart. Doctors
had to search beyond Paraguay's borders, and
by the time they found a compatible heart, it
was too late.
“By creating more awareness and
standardization for organ donation, we will
save lives,” Burt said.
Burt says the goal of Organs for Peace is to
educate the population about a little-known
law that requires all citizens of Paraguay
above the age of 18 to become organ donors
unless they request otherwise. Through the
organization, Burt and Acuña Cantero created
an awareness campaign, as well as a more
comprehensive organ donor registry.
“Most people are unaware of the
Andrea Burt ´09, far left, and Jazmin
Acuña Cantero ´11, far right, pose with
"Organs for Peace" volunteers wearing t-
shirts they created to raise awareness about
the importance of organ donation.
Paraguayan law regarding organ
donation,” Burt said. “So when they find
themselves in the situation where they are
given the choice of donating the organs of
their deceased relatives, they tend to
respond negatively. Most purposely ignore
the existence of a law that hasn't yet been
implemented efficiently.”
This summer, Burt and Acuña Cantero
worked to get the word out in any way
possible - by placing ads in newspapers,
speaking to people on the streets, holding a
registration drive at the country's biggest
national fair of the year and creating a
website (www.salvaunavida.org.py), a car
decal and t-shirts with the ad campaign's
tagline.
The vice president of Paraguay, Dr.
Federico Franco, strongly supported the
project. He experienced the difficulty of
finding an organ donor when his own
mother needed a kidney transplant. She
lived for 18 years after receiving a
transplant from Franco's brother.
This summer, Franco signed a document
promising his commitment to work on
Paraguay's organ donation shortage
situation. The country's Ministry of Public
Health also issued a decree that approved
Organs for Peace and declared the organ
donation shortage as one of national
interest. Throughout the summer, Burt and
Acuña Cantero kept Franco and Dr.
Esperanza Martinez, the new Secretary of
Public Health, updated on the program's
progress.
Now back on campus, Burt and Acuña
Cantero will monitor and consult for
Organs for Peace long-distance. As a
government and self-designed
"Development as Empowerment" double
major, as well as a scholar in the college's
Holleran Center Certificate Program in
was honored with two accepted projects.
Community Action and Public Policy,
Burt hopes to design and carry out
development projects through large
foundations after graduation.
“I think of Organs for Peace as my first
real initiative,” she said.
Acuña Cantero says she plans to major in
International Relations and minor in
History of Latin America. After
graduation, she hopes to return to
Paraguay to work on public policies in
rural areas, where land reform and
education are much needed, she said.
Organs for Peace was funded by Davis
Projects for Peace, which provides
motivated undergraduate students at
participating American colleges and
universities with $10,000 to design and
implement grassroots initiatives that
inspire and promote peace. Through a
competition with over 85 campuses
nationwide, 100 projects are chosen. This
year, Connecticut College was honored
with two accepted projects.