Around 5,00,000 people die every year in India due to non-availability of organs for donations. And an estimate 1,50,000 await a kidney transplant but only 5,000 get one. Around 17 of every 100 people suffer from kidney disease. These alarming figures are sure to run a shiver down your spine.
For organ recipients, a transplant often means a second chance at life.
Vital organs such as the heart, pancreas, liver, kidneys and lungs can be transplanted to those whose organs are failing. It allows many recipients to get back to a normal life. For others, a cornea or tissue transplant means the ability to see again or the recovery of mobility and freedom from pain.
Around 1.6 lakh patients are awaiting organs in India while a mere 12,000 donors are available. The annual requirement for kidneys ranges between 1 lakh and 2 lakh and only 5,000 transplants take place every year. At this stage, doctors feel that the Spanish model of ‘opt-out’ cadaver donation, where organs of all cadavers are automatically donated unless the deceased has voluntarily opted out, can be incorporated in India. Dr Sanjeev Gulati, Director and Head Nephrology and Kidney Transplant at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, Delhi, says the country needs a system that pushes cadaver donation, especially as accident deaths are high in our country.” He adds that Germany, France and Austria have followed in Spain’s footsteps and India should also do the same.
The Iranian model of patients enlisting with an NGO that matches donors without allowing any interaction between the patient and donor is another model that can be studied.
“India definitely needs cadaver donations but so many things need to be organised for the system to be successful and, at present; we are far from that,” says Dr Sanjay K Agarwal, Professor & Head, Department of Nephrology, AIIMS, Delhi.
As thousands of Indians die every year for lack of an organ, the gift of life through organ donation needs to become a nationwide movement.
Between 2012 and 2014, Delhi-NCR registered a 59 cadaver donors against 350 in Tamil Nadu, 116 in Maharashtra
The annual requirement for kidneys ranges between 1 lakh and 2 lakh
Around 5,00,000 people die every year in India due to non-availability of organs for donations
An estimate 1,50,000 await a kidney transplant every year but only 5,000 get one
Around 17 of every 100 people suffer from kidney disease