Trends in Organ Donation
Context:
- Organ donation rates increased in 2021 after falling in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, according to information presented by the administration in Parliament, the number of deceased donors or organs donated by family members of those who had cardiac or brain death has remained lower than the number of donations from living people.
Analyzing the data on organ donations:
- Only 1,743, or slightly more than 14%, of the 12,387 organs removed in 2021—including kidney, liver, heart, lungs, and pancreas—were from deceased donors.
- According to the data, 2021 saw almost as many harvests as the highest of the previous five years (12,746, in 2019).
- The statistics favour live contributions, such as kidney and liver transplants from living relatives.
- Organs from living donors were removed in total by 10,644, which is more than the 10,608 living contributions in 2019. From 16.77% in 2019 to just 14.07% in 2021, all organs harvested came from deceased donors.
- The deceased’s donations also have a geographical focus. Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka got more than 85% of all dead organ donations in 2021; neither of the other two states received any. In Goa, two organs were removed from a deceased donor.
- The geographic skew may be a result of the concentration of centres for organ transplant and harvesting in certain regions.
- In order to change the current pattern, which now sees roughly 80% of transplants using organs from living donors rather than the deceased one due to its medically advantageous condition, concerned officials are actively striving to do so.
Why is increasing bereavement presents so important?
- The country needs more organ transplants than there are available organs, which is the first contributing cause.
- India performs the third-highest number of transplants globally in terms of absolute numbers. – However, only 8,000 of the projected 1.5–2 lakh people who require kidney transplants annually actually receive one. – Only 1,800 of the 80,000 people who need liver transplants actually receive one. Only 200 of the 10,000 patients who need a heart transplant actually receive one. – As lifestyle disorders grow increasingly prevalent, demand is rising. Additionally, only deceased donors can have organs like the heart and lungs removed.
- The second assertion is that a priceless resource would be wasted without the contributions of the deceased. – In India, automobile accidents claim the lives of up to 1.5 lakh people annually, many of whom would benefit from organ donation. – The majority of organs are currently received from people who are brain dead, even though donations are still feasible after the heart stops beating.
- In India, 0.52 organ donations are made for every million people. However, Spain has the highest rate of organ donation in the world at 49.6 per million people.
- Spain has an opt-out system in which a person is deemed to be a donor unless otherwise specified, in contrast to India, where a person must register to be an organ donor and the family must give consent after death.
How might offerings to the needy be increased?
- According to a publication in the British Journal of General Practice, Spain’s high rate of deceased donors is also attributed to the fact that the transplant coordinator has medical expertise.
- Transplant coordinators are employed by the top hospitals in India that can harvest organs to explain and walk the families through the procedure.
- Although there are at least eight deceased donor organs available, only 2.6 have been transplanted as of this writing.
- Additionally, more people might benefit from organ harvesting if cardiac death rather than brain death occurs in the donors.
- Because the blood supply that oxygenates the organs after cardiac death stops flowing, a rapid organ harvest is required.
- However, in India, it is already too late by the time the family members learn of the passing and travel from various locations inside the city or even from beyond the city.
- Given Indians’ propensity for giving, it is essential that the general public comprehend the importance of organ donation in order to persuade more people to register as donors.
- Events must be regularly scheduled to accomplish the twin goals of raising awareness and fostering conviction that donated organs are genuinely helping people.
- Additionally, efficient transportation among cities and between states might support organ donation.
How can one register to donate?
- You can register as an organ donor on the NOTTO website or by mailing a filled-out Form 7 of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act. It’s crucial for donors to express their beliefs to their families in addition to signing up. This is done in order to ensure that, even with a donor card, the family’s permission may be obtained for organ donation when a person passes away. The organ harvesting is not done if the family objects.
Programmes implemented by the government to encourage organ donation:
- The National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP) of the Indian government encourages organ donation and transplantation throughout the nation. Among the program’s elements is financial assistance for: – Establishing SOTTOs (State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations) in every State and UT.
- constructing new facilities for organ transplant and organ retrieval and enhancing the ones that already exist. creating state, regional, and national biomaterial centres.
- Appointing transplant coordinators to trauma centres and medical schools.
- Support for a deceased donor
- A dignified funeral for the donor who passed away
- Immunosuppressive medications that are given to BPL patients after transplantation.
- The construction of green corridors for quicker organ transportation will be facilitated by improved collaboration between the Road, Railway, and Aviation Ministries.
- The hospital notifies the state organ and tissue transplant organisation when an organ becomes available under the current method so that it can be matched with nearby recipients. The organ is subsequently sent to the regional organisation in charge of organ and tissue transplants, which then gets in touch with NOTTO, if a match cannot be found.
Conclusion:
- Organ donation offers patients who have run out of other options for hope a chance to live and prosper. People should donate their organs because it demonstrates their concern for the underprivileged and social responsibility. The government should also step up efforts to increase awareness and build infrastructure along the lines of the “green corridor” in order to guarantee that donated organs are transported to individuals in need as quickly as feasible.
