VIJAYAWADA: Guduru Sita Mahalakshmi, who began an organ donation movement in the state, believes that it is not how long but how well one has lived that is more important. A teacher by profession, Mahalakshmi wished to be a doctor in her youth, but could not pursue medicine because of her family’s poor financial condition. This did not discourage her from gaining knowledge on human anatomy and she did so by reading on the subject extensively.
Her motto is simple: serve the society and be useful to fellow human beings. Strictly adhering to her principle, she adopted 150 children from poor families and started an organisation, Savitribai Phule Educational and Charitable Trust, in 2008. However, about 12 years ago, she faced a major setback when she was diagnosed with ectopic kidney, a birth defect in which the organ is located in an abnormal position. For treatment, she went to super speciality hospitals in several metro cities, but it was at Coimbatore Hospital where she realised how many people die due to lack of organ availability for transplants.
“I was undergoing treatment at Coimbatore Hospital where an eight-year-old boy died in front of my vert eyes due to kidney failure. It was not the medical problem that killed him, but the lack of a donor match that took his life away,” she said. It was there she decided to educate people on the need for organ donation and began her awareness campaign. For the first time, a group of 35 persons submitted voluntary whole body donation form, which states that a body can be used for medical research after the person’s deaths, to Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam.
However, convincing families of persons, who were declared brain-dead, to donate organs was a Herculean task, considering the myths and taboos surrounding it. “Superstition paired with social stigma associated with the concept of organ donation and whole body donation was and still is the biggest hurdle to anyone who tries to educate people on this concept. Also, faulty interpretations of religious beliefs have moulded the minds of people since eons and is not easy for youngsters to let go, making it difficult for us to preach what the correct interpretation is,” she lamented.
“If you read holy books of every religion, which I have studied thoroughly as part of my research on organ donation, all the religions accept organ donation as it saves life of another human being,” she added.
Other problems that arise from the side of the medical fraternity include doctors hesitating to declare a person brain-dead either because the hospital’s reputation is at stake or their source of income will be cut off. Despite such drawbacks, Mahalakshmi with other like-minded persons has been able to donate nearly 250 cadavers to several medical colleges for study and research and has successfully convinced 5,000 to sign wills for whole body donation along with 15,000 people to sign organ donation forms across AP and Telangana.“One brain-dead person can save lives of eight people. One can stay alive even after death by giving life to someone in need. Imagine how many lives will be changed for the better,” Mahalakshmi added.
How to register for donations
In case of organ donation, one can register themselves at the awareness campaigns or can sign the form floated by Jeevandan, a registered trust of the State government. For whole body donation will forms (pledge) signed by the family members of the donors will be submitted to the medical colleges located near their residence. The donors will be given a organ or whole body donor card, which should be carried by the person always
What organs can be donated
Eyes, kidneys, lungs, heart, liver, pancreas, bones and tendons, ear drums, heart valves, skin
Major problems
Lack of efforts from government to encourage and educate citizens
Lack of awareness
Superstitious, social stigma
Doctors unwilling to declare patient brain-dead
Organ trafficking
Lack of punishments
Apathy by hospitals in accepting bodies
Lack of transparency in organ allocation
Ill-equipped government hospitals