Loire Atlantique. This town south of Nantes becomes an ambassador city for organ donation

A green ribbon, the color of hope, placed next to the words “ Ambassador city for organ donation “.

This sign is one of four installations attached to the entrances to the city of Haute-Goulaine, town located near Nantes.

Since Friday April 26, as part of an official ceremony, the municipality is the first in the Nantes vineyard and of theNantes conurbation to have joined the charter of ambassador cities, a network which includes 430 towns and villages in France. Including eleven in Loire Atlantique*.

In Haute-Goulaine, the approach took shape under the leadership of David Arnaud.

What does the law say about organ donation?

This 50-year-old father, currently on dialysis, suffers from‘renal failure. He has been waiting for a kidney transplant for 2 and a half years. A volunteer within an association of sick patients, the Goulanais is mobilizing to raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.

The commitment may be surprising given what the law says today.

The text in fact provides that we “are all potentially donors, unless a refusal during one’s lifetime has been expressed”.

The law also emphasizes “that relatives be systematically questioned about the wishes of the deceased when organ harvesting is possible”.

A refusal rate of 36%

Between what it is possible to do and the facts, there is however a significant gap in terms of organ donation.

Although 80% of French people are in favor of it, less than one in two have spoken about it.

The absence of consent oral or written means that the number of transplants carried out each year remains insufficient.

THE refusal rate organ donation reaches 36%.

“Every day, 2 to 3 people die in France due to lack of organs,” reports the Greffe + collective.

883 people died in 2023 due to lack of transplant. And 27,500 people are waiting for a transplant.

One thing to do: talk about it

To reduce these figures, there is only one thing to do: talk about it so that everyone can discuss it with their family, to “think calmly” about an issue of public health priority and give it visibility.

As we can see, it is very complicated for families affected by the tragedy of a disappearance to decide. Whereas when the decision is already made, there is a red carpet for the sample.

Especially since this organ donation can be done at any age of life.

“Age is not a criterion. Nor a contraindication,” continued Matthieu Delahaye, another nurse in the department.

Talk about ? The resident did so with Fabrice Cuchot, mayor of a town and a municipal council which quickly gave visibility to organ donation by becoming ambassador city.

What commitment for the city?

For Haute-Goulaine, the signing of the convention is not going to stop at putting up panels and communicationvia city media (municipal bulletin, website, electronic signatures, etc.).

It’s not just a document you sign just for fun. Nor a one-off operation. We will be active on the subject all the time.

First meeting, the city will participate in “the National Day of Giving June 22 », adds the mayor of a town which also plans to organize highlights and conferences.

It remains that this sign placed, “emblem of a generous, united and open city”, “the municipality suggests to the associations concerned with organ donation to be the promoters and animators of an idea of ​​transcendence of life, but above all to connect the world of health, associations and the population,” said David Arnaud, ambassador of the system.

Among the projects, the system offers, among other things, communities to “plant a tree of Life, place of collection in thanks to the donors and their loved ones”.

“Spread the culture of donation to increase the number of donors”

The objective is to “spread the culture of donation to increase the number of donors”, insists Goulainais.

Like him, others sick came to testify to the importance of organ donation during the ceremony.

This is the case of Cécile and Marie-Luce, two inhabitants from Haute-Goulaine.

Both kidney transplant recipients.

I slept 20 hours a day. I had difficulty getting from my room to the chair. I didn’t do anything anymore. I thought I was at the end of my life. I was ready to die. Ten years later I’m still here.

A woman with a kidney transplant

All these transplant recipients who “take advantage today of their familytheir loved ones” thanked “their donor”.

“If we tolerate the illness, the pain, the fact of being a burden on society, on our family, it is because we have the prospect of having a boost of life which will happen at the transplant”, commented a young woman, victim of autoimmune disease who affected the kidneys, and waiting for a transplant.

It is essential that there are more donors. This expression must be done orally or in writing.

Other ambassador cities

During his intervention, the ARS registry referent (regional health agency) recalled the fact of being able to write his advance directives in his health space.

“It can be indicated that I am an organ and tissue donor,” he said.

In the Nantes vineyard, other municipalities should follow the example of Haute-Goulaine.

Basse-Goulaine And Vertou have already signed up to the charter of organ donation ambassador cities. The decision must be ratified at a future municipal council meeting.

Contacts were also made with the municipalities of Saint-Sébastien, Clisson and THE Loroux-Bottereau.

* In Loire-Atlantique, the organ donation ambassador towns are mainly located in the north of the department: Châteaubriant, Crossac, Dreffeac, Missillac, Severac… Haute-Goulaine is the first located in the south.

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