Save7’s innovative LifePod unit at Tygerberg Hospital has already proven its life-saving mission, transforming the lives of over ten recipients thanks to its first courageous donor patient and their brave family.
Stellenbosch, South Africa (01 December 2025) – Each of us has seven life-saving organs inside of us, and each of us will donate them in one way or another; whether to the ground or to any of the 5,000 South Africans waiting for a lifesaving transplant, a second shot at life.
After months of waiting, Tygerberg Hospital has cared for its first LifePod donor patient, a milestone made possible through the student-led initiative by Save7.
The LifePod was launched in June and is a dedicated ICU space at Tygerberg Hospital to bridge the gap in donor management. It was built to provide specialised care for consenting organ donors, maintaining their organs’ viability during the critical 12 to 36-hour period before transplant surgery.
Recently, one person and one brave family said “yes” to organ and tissue donation, transforming more than ten lives that have been on the waiting list for organ transplants.
Stellenbosch University (SU) Dean of Medicine and Health Sciences, Prof Elmi Muller, shared that following the necessary consent procedures, the patient was stabilised to become an organ donor.
Four years after embarking on a life-saving mission, the students who developed the LifePod have now witnessed the fruits of their labour.
“Hospital beds are such a precious commodity in our country. Someone always needs a bed, and if you have a brain-dead donor sitting in the emergency or trauma ward, they’re essentially taking up the spot for someone who is still living, someone who could be fighting for their life,” shared 5th-year SU medical student Sachen Naidu.
Naidu further emphasised that patients experiencing irreversible comas have the opportunity not only to free a bed but also to help save other lives by becoming organ donors, thereby transforming the lives of seven (or more) other people.
The legacy of the first LifePod patient’s selfless final gift now lives on in beating hearts, breathing lungs, restored sight and rebuilt limbs.
Sources: Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
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