Organ India: Decoding Organ Donation

India as a nation hasn't woken up to organ donation? Even though there are various NGOs that are trying to spread awareness and ambassadors like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Gautam Gambhir have pledged their organs, India as a whole is not actively participating in it.

There are various myths and confusions about organ donation. Here are a few pointers that will help clear it up.

What is organ donation all about?

There are various people whose biological conditions make it imperative for them to replace certain organs via a transplant in order to survive. The people who donate these organs or biological tissue are called organ donors and the process is called organ donation.

It is important to note that the donor can be either be alive or deceased. There are certain organs without which a person can live a comfortable life or which re-grow. Such organs can be donated even when a person is alive. Kidney transplant, Liver transplant and bone marrow transplant are cases in point for the same.

The next thing that confuses a lot of people is brain death. So, what is brain death and is brain death really death?

A severe brain injury can put an end to all brain activity and lead for the brain functioning to stop. This is when a person is declared brain dead and is also legally dead. It is an irreversible state without any chances of a person waking up. A brain dead person though is a viable candidate for organ donation. But, for brain death organ transplant to work, the body of the dead person needs to be put on a ventilator. This process makes the deceased organ donation feasible for a period of 2-3 days.

While, for certain organs the donation is only possible if a person has died in a hospital and the body is kept viable, cornea transplant is possible without all these precautions too. Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been an ambassador for eye donation for a long time and has in fact pledged her eyes too. Such organ donation stories can inspire many people to take up the cause.

In order to donate body organs after death, consent of a living relative is required. Even if a person holds an organ donor card and has pledged his organs, the procedure cannot be completed without the family’s consent. It is thus best for people pledging their organs to discuss the matter with their families and keep them informed.

Another important aspect in the world of organ donation is that of cadaver organ donation. There are various medical schools in India. In order to train students and make them ready for real life situations they are initially made to train on cadavers. These bodies are mostly sourced from unclaimed ones in hospitals.

Organ donation after death is not the only way to help someone fighting for their life. One of the biggest hurdles for organ donation in India is the myth about things like lungs and pancreas transplant. But, what makes this exercise worthwhile is the larger than life and memorable stories of organ recipients.