Health Ministry Tells Hospitals and Medical Colleges to Push Organ Donation, Identify Brain-Dead Patients

The central government has instructed all hospitals and medical colleges across India to accelerate the identification and declaration of brain-dead patients to boost organ donation.

As the Health Ministry plans to organise the upcoming Indian Organ Donation Day on August 3, Health Secretary Apurva Chandra has sought cooperation from top officers and hospitals across states and Union Territories to further the “noble cause” for the sake of “humanity”.

According to the letter June 24 written by Chandra: “Facilitating organ donation and transplantation is among the top priorities of the Government of India.” The letter recognises that “one organ donor can save up to eight to nine lives.” However, it confesses that a “huge gap” exists between patients who require organ transplants and the organ donors that are available.

The letter said that the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) celebrates the Indian Organ Donation Day (IODD) every year to spread awareness about organ donation, dispel myths and misconceptions associated with organ donation and motivate and encourage the citizens to donate organs and tissues of loved ones after death.

This year, the Health Ministry has decided to run a public awareness campaign called Angdaan Jan Jagrukta Abhiyaan.

“As part of the campaign, August 3, 2024 will be celebrated as the Indian Organ Donation Day to commemorate the first deceased donor organ transplant, which was also the first heart transplant done in the country after the promulgation of The Transplantation of Human Organs Act on July 8, 1994.”

Presently, India grapples with a dire shortage of organ donations, particularly deceased donations, as evidenced by a staggering waiting list of over 3 lakh patients and a tragic toll of at least 20 deaths daily. According to the Health Ministry’s data, the total number of donors, including deceased donors, saw an increase from 6,916 in 2014 to approximately 16,000 by 2022.

In 2022, out of 16,000 donations, nearly 80% were from living donors, which is not ideal. The majority of transplants should come from deceased donors.

Major Focus Areas

According to the letter, the objective of the campaign is to reduce the demand for organ transplantation by promoting healthy lifestyles and wellness. Also, it aims to spread awareness about brain stem death, deceased organ donation, and prevention and control of illegal practices related to organ transplantation.

The main hindrance to increasing the donation of organs is the prevalence of myths. The campaign will also focus on busting myths and misconceptions related to organ donation and transplantation.

Also, the campaign asks hospitals across India, including medical colleges, “to increase identification and declaration of cases of brain stem death by the hospitals”.

How the Campaign Aims to Create Awareness

The campaign aims to maximise online registration of pledges of willing citizens for organ and tissue donation through NOTTO’s web portal.

Various information and communication activities are also advised by the central government such as skits, street plays, audiovisual and social media to promote registration of pledges through the web portal.

“Participation of senior school students, college students and other youth in the campaign may please be encouraged,” Chandra wrote.

At the village and panchayat level, the letter said, registration of digital pledges on the web portal may be organized with the support of common service centres functional at the village level. To increase awareness, felicitation of organ donors and group pledges by residents of the village may be organized on Indian Organ Donation Day, the ministry has advised.

Sunayna Singh, CEO of NGO Organ India told News18 that the government’s move to push organ donation in India is in the “right direction”. “Tying up with district administration is a great way of reaching the public. District administrations are connected to the public in every way through civil hospitals, panchayats, community and primary health centres, education officers, schools and colleges among others. We have been working with several district administrations in Haryana and it has been a very good way of taking public awareness to a new level.”

“These programs though need to be continuous through the year and not stop after a month,” she said, adding that such push from NOTTO and the Health Ministry helps NGOs to connect to the public easily and carry on this program in the long run”.