Be an organ donor to gift someone a second chance at life

It’s Organ Donation Day today and we must recall the quote: “Don’t take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here.”

Although cadaver donations are on the rise, more donors need to come forward, taking into consideration the need for multiple organs. Organ donation is important because it allows one body to give a new lease of life to others. It is the best gift one can give to others.

Organs and tissues can be harvested after a patient is declared brain dead. However, ignorance, fear, belief, sentiment, and religious practices often deter donors from coming forward in India. Not many families agree to mutilation of the dead for organ donation.

Let’s look at the situation this way — while the donor has nothing to lose, the donee has everything to gain. Although organ donations are being viewed positively in some pockets of the country, public awareness is still lacking to a large extent. There ought to be fool-proof mechanisms in hospitals to identify and certify brain deaths. Processes should be simplified to enable more people to come forward and donate.

The donor’s next of kin also need to cooperate and act. The government can also make changes in the law to reduce procedural delays that deter people from donating. Most important is the need to educate the people about the utility of organ donation.