Every year due to a lack of suitable organs thousands of people who are suffering from end-stage renal disease and liver disease are dying in our country.
Transplantation is the best option for patients with end stage disease or organ failure. It offers a better quality of life. Transplantation is a major surgical procedure requiring several steps of assessment and matching tests for the donor and recipient.
Patients waiting for organs are increasing day by day and there is a huge scarcity of relative donors. Brain dead or deceased donor donation has been a boon for patients, who do not have a relative donor. Awareness of organ donation has helped to a certain extent to reduce this burden.
With the better availability of quality health care and experts in the field of transplantation, outcomes of organ transplantations are excellent even in tier 2 cities. However, because of the lack of awareness among the public, many eligible brain death patients’ precious organs are being wasted.
The public should be aware of the fact that organ donation not only saves an individual life who is suffering from organ failure but also his/her entire family as we know the difficulties faced by the family if one of the members is suffering from end-stage organ disease.
At the same time even though the loss is not replaceable for the donor family, organ donation creates the same of solace to the family and respect in society.
August is observed as a Green month where the Government of India under National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) undertake a lot of initaitives and activities to create awareness amongst the general public on the importance of organ donation and transplantation.
In India, around 2 lakh people would require kidney transplant, 30,000 people require heart transplant and over 50,000 people need liver transplant.
However, due to lack of awareness and myth surrounded towards organ donation, many members within the family hesitate to donate the organs of the deceased person or a brain dead person. Hence, there is a shortfall of people donating the organs in India compared to Spain which is the leading country in the world in terms of organ donation.
Also, on the occasion of World Organ Donation Day, Manipal Hospital, Goa along with Indian Medical Association (IMA), Goa State and Mohan Foundation have jointly organised a walkathon from Bhagwan Parashuram statue to Campal Sports Complex at 8 am.
The writer is a Consultant Nephrologist, Manipal Hospital, Goa.
