November 27 is India’s National Organ Donation Day, a time to pause and introspect. Is it possible to live on after leaving this world? Is it possible that one’s eyes continue to see the rainbow and the heart continues to sing a favorite melody even when one is no longer in this world? The answer is yes.
How many people know that over 4,00,000 individuals need an organ transplant and over 1,10,000 need cornea transplant in the country every year? That it is possible to save eight lives by choosing to donate one’s heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, small intestine and pancreas after brain death? Or, that tissue like eyes, skin, bones, heart valves can be donated? Even if one has heard of this vaguely, how does one go about pledging to donate during one’s lifetime and what is the legal status of such a pledge? Is it possible online?
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The lack of awareness in the community explains largely why our organ donation rate stands at 0.8 per million population as compared to over 40 per million in countries like Spain. Organ donation is usually possible when there is a brain death, when one is plugged-in to a ventilator following a grievous brain injury. The injury may be in the form of a stroke, head injury or brain tumor. The brain dies but the heart continues to beat for a few hours or days, thus maintaining vital blood supply to the various organs and providing the window for organ retrieval. Brain death is irreversible. It is diagnosed at the bedside by a group of four doctors who repeat the tests after six hours to ensure that there is no error. For a grieving family who are trying to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, it is very difficult to understand the concept of brain death. How can their loved one be no more when they can see the heart beating on the monitor?
The correct age to introduce awareness on organ donation is during school. Perhaps in class XI, when the children are old enough to understand the intricacies of life, yet not burdened by board exams. The option of pledging to donate one’s organs while applying for a driver’s license is now being offered by Karnataka, Chandigarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The Fortis-NDTV ‘More To Give’ campaign aims to provide a boost to awareness on organ donation. Online pledging can be done on the websites of NDTV and Fortis Healthcare. As we prepare for a simultaneous walkathon in 7 cities on Sunday November 26, it is important that people who pledge to donate must inform their families about their decision.
The problem is that organ donation is confined to only 12 states including Union Territories and that too mostly in the state capitals. Health being a state subject, the onus of adopting and implementing the donation-friendly Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act of 2011 lies squarely with the state governments. Even states like Punjab and West Bengal have yet to make a start. All state governments must accord priority to organ and tissue donation. The acute shortage of ventilators in Government hospitals needs to be addressed. Patients with brain death need to be identified early and their families approached for organ donation. With 90 per cent of the transplants being done in private hospitals, the onus is on the government to start at least one transplant center in each state. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) has started functioning from New Delhi and offers online pledging on its website. Six Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (ROTTOs) are being established across the country and over 20 lakh pledges have already been collected in 2 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had exhorted the countrymen to come forward and donate organs during his monthly address on radio called Mann Ki Baat. November 27 has been declared the national ‘Organ Donation Day’.
The government needs to conceive and execute a massive nationwide organ donation drive by involving newspapers, television, radio and social media. More importantly, the drive should run round the year and not stay confined to ‘organ donation day’ or ‘organ donation week’. Meanwhile, all activities related to promotion of organ and tissue donation by individuals, schools, NGOs need to be encouraged. After all, every beat contributes to a lifetime.
About The Author:
Dr. Avnish Seth is Director Gastroenterology & Hepatobiliary Sciences at Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram and Director Fortis Organ Retrieval & Transplant (FORT). Dr. Seth established the Armed Forces Organ Retrieval & Transplant Authority (AORTA) in 2007, the first successful organ donation program in North India and was awarded the Vishist Seva Medal by the President of India in 2009.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
