Organ donation gave Matthew a second chance at life

By Sandile Mbili, Health-e News

Nine years ago, Health-e News met Matthew Legemaate while he was waiting for a heart and double-lung transplant.

Legemaate, who lives with his parents in Gillitts in KwaZulu-Natal, was born with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot and severe pulmonary atresia. 

At the time Health-e News wrote about Legemaate’s journey, he already had numerous heart surgeries and other medical interventions.

At age 13 he was placed on the waiting list for a heart and double-lung transplant.

In 2017, a year after Health-e News’ story was published, Legemaate and his parents received the call they had been waiting for.

“It was an overwhelming moment for me. I was happy that there was another opportunity for me, but it was also a very sad moment because the donor’s family had lost their loved one. It was mixed emotions,” he says.

Legemaate received a heart and double-lung transplant at Busamed Gateway Private Hospital in Umhlanga in October 2017.

“I said to myself, now I am no longer going to need to be on oxygen. I was tired and exhausted from relying on an oxygen concentrator. I just needed to live a normal life,” he says.

Now at age 27, Legemaate cycles, pursues his passion for photography and is finishing his studies to become a professional chef.

“I am proud to say now I do cycling, pursue my passion for photography, plus I am in my finishing stages at school to become a professional chef, which are things I wouldn’t have done if I was still sick.”

Back on the transplant waiting list

In 2014, 51-year-old Marilee Chananie from Pinetown received a kidney and pancreas transplant at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg. She says the transplant transformed her life, but her journey did not end there.

Chananie has lived with Type 1 diabetes throughout her life. She says in later years she developed kidney failure and was then placed on a transplant waiting list.

Chananie’s transplanted kidney lasted for nine years but her transplanted pancreas is still functioning. Chananie says she is now waiting for another kidney.

She restarted dialysis in 2023 and currently undergoes dialysis three times a week for three hours at a time.

“I counted up the other day. Since restarting dialysis in 2023, excluding hospital stays where I have had additional treatments, I have had at least 456 treatments totalling 1 368 hours of dialysis,” she says.

“This keeps me going but it’s rigorous. It leaves you feeling like you’ve run a marathon, but without the endorphin high a run gives you.”

Chananie says her situation is complicated by the fact that her transplanted pancreas is still functioning. Chananie remains on medication to suppress her immune system while also living with kidney failure.

She says she continues to work full-time and remains active.

“I am now listed for another kidney transplant and I am waiting patiently. All I can say is, I try by all means to live a normal life and to be active enough to keep myself strong and healthy,” she says.

Chananie says she participated in the World Transplant Games in the UK in 2019, competing in tennis and pétanque. She is also a member of the South African Transplant Sports Association.

Chananie says she receives her healthcare in the private sector and has medical aid cover through her employer. She says there are still shortfalls from time to time and she has had to negotiate with healthcare providers to pay it off in installments.

Not enough organ donors

August is National Organ Donor Awareness Month in South Africa and aims to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. According to the Organ Donor Foundation, one organ donor can save up to seven lives through organ donation.

But Reka Howbrook, Regional Transplant Manager for Netcare in KwaZulu-Natal, says the shortage of organ donors remains a major challenge in South Africa.

Howbrook was among the delegates who attended a Donor Tribute Day at the Durban Botanic Gardens earlier this month, where transplant recipients, their families and people involved in organ donation came together.

“For transplant recipients, the gift of an organ can mean more than a medical procedure. It can mean more time with family, returning to work, pursuing dreams and regaining independence and confidence,” Howbrook says. 

“But behind every donated organ or tissue there is also a person, in many cases, a family that made a decision to donate during an extremely difficult time.” 

Howbrook says there are two types of organ donors – deceased donors and living donors. 

According to Howbrook, living donors can, for example, donate a kidney or a portion of certain organs.

“We need more people to become donors when they die,” she says.

Organ donation remain low in public healthcare

Howbrook says the public and private sectors experience similar challenges, including a lack of information about organ donation and poor referrals of potential donors. 

She says this is particularly a challenge in the public sector. According to Howbrook, most organ donors currently come from the private healthcare sector.

Cindy Goldie, Lenmed Transplant Manager and Transplant and LVAD Coordinator at Ethekwini Hospital and Heart Centre, says potential donors are not always referred.

She says healthcare professionals, emergency medical services and funeral directors may not have systems in place to refer potential donors. According to Goldie, they may also be uncomfortable raising organ donation with families as an end-of-life decision.

Goldie says both public and private healthcare face challenges when it comes to transplantation.

“The public sector is affected by skills and resources. The private sector is affected by funders, even if it is a Prescribed Minimum Benefit,” she says. 

The shortage is particularly serious in the public health system. 

In a March 2026 article published by Stellenbosch University, nephrologist Professor Yazied Chothia writes that around 6 500 people are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant in South Africa. This includes 2 300 waiting for a kidney. 

According to Chothia, fewer than 300 organ transplants are performed each year and most of them are kidney transplants.

Honouring the donor

Vimla Reddy attended the Donor Tribute Day in Durban to honour her late husband, who had received a donated heart but died 24 hours after the transplant.

Reddy says after her husband’s death, her family honoured his own wish to become a donor by donating his corneas.

“We had to honour his wish to be a donor after his passing and donated his corneas, which I believe made someone else’s vision better than before,” she says. 

“I am also here on his behalf to honour his heart donor and those people who made a brave decision, and to send awareness for everybody to do the same.” 

Tracy Gibbs, a Transplant and Tissue Coordinator at Vitanova, says donation is not limited to solid organs. Tissue donation can include skin, bone, corneas, heart valves and tendons.

“Anyone can register to donate their organs and their tissues regardless of their age and medical history,” says Gibbs. 

“But most of the time people hesitate to register to be organ donors because there is a lack of awareness, understanding and misconceptions.” 

Gibbs encourages more people to become organ and tissue donors. 

To learn more about organ donation contact the Organ Donor Foundation.

Source: Read the original report at Health-e News.