Date: January 11, 2023

Reasons for shortage of Organ donors in India

What is organ donation?

Organ donation is the process of surgically removing an organ from one person and placing it into another person who is the recipient. A recipient could be any person suffering from organ failure and who cannot survive unless he or she receives organ replacement. It is the most advanced process in modern medicine. However, the need for an organ donor is more than the number of people who donate organs. The sad truth is that 17 people die daily from waiting for organ donors in India.

Types of organ donation

• Living organ donation
  Living organ donation is when organs are removed from a healthy living person and replaced by people suffering from organ failure. Relatives, family, and friends are typical donors for living organ donation. There are several NGOs for Liver transplants in India, which greatly help people in need.

• Deceased organ donation
  Deceased organ donation is when the donor is deceased; when somebody talks or takes a pledge about donating an organ after their death, they are talking about deceased organ donation. In this donation process, an organ is only removed from a deceased person when they are declared brain stem dead by the doctor. In several countries, once a person is deceased, their organs are considered donated unless it is stopped by their relatives.

Some significant reasons for the shortage of organ donors in India:-

1. Absence of awareness and education
   There is a lack of awareness among the attendants of the deceased patient about organ donation in public, which creates superstitions and misconceptions in our country (India) and makes organ donation a more tedious task. Even in some cases, the doctor is unaware of organ donation, complicating the decision-making process for the deceased partner’s family members.
2. Absence of family consent
   Sometimes, when the patient is declared brain dead, the attendants of the deceased confuse it with a coma just because the heart is still beating and other organs are functioning. It gives attendees hope that their loved one’s death is irreversible. This makes it difficult for organ donation to be initiated as a process.
3. Absence of brain death declaration
   Doctors and other medical staff in several hospitals are not trained to recognize and announce brain death. They continue to keep the patient on a ventilator and family members in hope. Also, several hospitals, especially government hospitals, are not equipped to perform organ transplantation retrieval procedures.
4. Superstitions and misconceptions about organ donation
   Some people have myths like “if I donate my liver or kidney, I may be born without a kidney or liver in my next birth.” Some people have the misconception that organ donation is an expensive process. These myths are slowly but surely getting removed from societal mindsets.

Conclusion

Being an organ donor is the best way to make a difference in the world while you are alive and even when you are beyond it. Become an organ donor in Mumbai through a transplant organization, pledge your organs, and improve the world.