Today, on the European Donor Day, the play ‘Together for a New Life’ premiered at 5 to 12. Patients on the waiting list for a new organ, who, thanks to the will of donors and their families, have been given a new chance to live, are the protagonists of the new theater play of the National Theater in Belgrade.

The actors in the play are Ivana Joksić and Mladen Todić, who have had a liver transplant and who are known to the public as the faces of the campaign ‘I am a Donor, Too. Because I Support Serbia,’ conducted by the Hemofarm Foundation and the Ministry of Health of Serbia.

The play aims at raising awareness of importance of transplantation and increase of number of donors in Serbia, as the only chance for life for about a thousand people currently waiting for a new heart, liver or kidney.

‘Most of the population are not aware enough of the importance of organ donation, and the topic of organ donation and transplantation is accompanied by many fears and prejudices. In addition to organizing public discussions across Serbia, the Association ‘Together for a New Life’ has decided to make this topic closer to the society through the play and personal stories of the patients,’ the Association said.

The National Theater in Belgrade has helped the authors of the play to write the script and it involves not only patients but also the permanent members of the theatre ensemble. It is the decision of the Association and the National Theater that the play be of humanitarian nature and that tickets be distributed free of charge at the box office.

In Europe, nearly 6 new patients are added to a waiting list every hour and 19 die every day waiting for a transplantation. With only 3 donors per million population, Serbia is ranked at the tail end among the countries in the region and Europe. At this moment, about 1000 people are waiting for organ transplantation in our country. As a partner to the Serbian Ministry of Health, Hemofarm Foundation has launched two campaigns in order to raise awareness of the society on the importance of organ donation. For us, accepting organ donation is a matter of maturity of the society. Don't forget that it is 20 times more likely that you will need an organ than be in a position to become a donor. One single donor can save 8 lives through organ donation.