17 year old Kenyan Girl Builds App to Connect Organ Donors with Patients

At this moment, thousands of people in Africa are in desperate need of organs, the majority of those people sadly die before than organ becomes available. It’s an unfortunate reality, organ donors are always in short supply.

Having watched her uncle die due to lack of a kidney match, Kenyan high school student decided to take matters into her own hands by creating an app that connects organ donors, patients and hospitals. The app lets you know if you are eligible to donate an organ and to check the medical requirements of the patient in need.

“My uncle died due to lack of a kidney match, it took a long time to find a kidney on the black market, it was a tragedy for us, and didn’t want another family go through the tragedy that we went through,” explains Caroline Wambui, the brain behind the app, speaking to BBC News.

With the help of a mentor in the person of her school teacher, Damaris Muteti, 17 year old Wambui has made a prototype on a tablet and the two have already secured partners to work with to bring the product to life. They are now waiting to see if a law will be passed to make it legal for people to donate organs after their death- which is currently illegal in the country.

Last year, a health bill was passed declaring that any person who wishes to donate his body or organs would be free to do so if a Bill before Parliament is passed and assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

According to Daily Nation, The Health Bill will allow a person, who is competent to make a will, to donate his or her body or any specified tissue to a person or institution of his choice after death.

“Such a consent can also be given by a spouse, elder child, parent, guardian elder brother or sister in the event the person died without leaving a will,” the Bill states.
Congratulations to Caroline for using her personal experiences to change the lives of people in an entire nation, at only 17 years old! Now that’s power!

Source : www.nunnovation.com