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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Tony Parsons takes part in national campaign ‘Prolong Life’

Belgrade, 23 October 2009

Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic stated at a conference on the publication of the new novel by British author Tony Parsons, “Starting Over”, that with his book Parsons has become part of the ‘Prolong Life’ national campaign to raise awareness on the importance of organ donation.

Tony Parsons, left, and Tomica Milosavljevic

Milosavljevic recalled that the Ministry, in cooperation with the Radio Television Serbia, initiated the campaign in order to secure support for the transplantation programme, endorsed by President Boris Tadic and all church and religious communities in Serbia.

The Minister specified that there are over 30,000 owners of donor cards in Serbia now, that is, people who decided to donate their organs in the case of their death.

He also added that at the University Children’s Clinic in Belgrade 14 children await transplantation, while 1,144 patients are on the waiting list for kidney transplantation. Around 50 await liver transplantation, while five patients need a new heart.

Parsons said that life is everyone’s greatest gift and expressed satisfaction for having become part of a campaign of the Serbian Ministry of Health for increasing awareness of the importance of organ donation, which should be a permanent process in every society.

The campaign should also eliminate prejudices regarding the organ donation because a heart does not have colour, passport or religion and because we are all same underneath the skin, Parsons said and added that organ donation is the most positive thing which one human being can do for another.

The protagonist of the novel “Starting Over” gets a chance to start a new life when, after suffering a heart attack, he receives a heart transplant from a 19-year old. That is when his entire life changes.

After the press conference, a meeting was held which was attended by State Secretary of the Ministry of Health Nevena Karanovic and representatives of the Laguna editorial Dejan Papic, Vanja Gavrovski and Nenad Dropulic.