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World Organ Donation Day: 'Save lives,' urge political leaders in tweets
According to the data by World Health Organisation, only around 0.01 percent of people in India donate their organs after death.
August 13 is globally observed as the World Organ Donation Day every year. Donating organs is considered a noble cause as it amounts to leasing a person a new life. The earliest successful organ donation had been made possible in the year 1954. A man named Ronald Lee Herrick donated a kidney to his identical twin brother. Since then, this field of medicine has come a long way.
Speaking on the importance of spreading awareness surrounding organ donation, union minister of parliamentary affairs, coal and mines, Pralhad Joshi, in a tweet, called it a noble act and said “with the help of advanced technology and the expertise of doctors, many lives can be saved through organ donation.”
Karnataka health minister, K Sudhakar in a press conference about an awareness program on the same said, “during this Azadi Ki Amrit Mahotsav, pledge to donate your organs which could be "Amrit (elixir)" for someone's life.”
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Today, experts reiterate that this field of medicine has reached advanced stages including decoding the science behind face transplant and lab grown organs. However, the myths surrounding this act adds to the reluctance among people about pledging their organs. According to the World Health Organization, only around 0.01 percent of people in India donate their organs after death.
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Noting that one donor can save upto eight lives, Assam MLA Diganta Kalita tweeted, “organ donation can be a decision that gives immense contentment as we commit to saving someone's life which is the most spectacular thing one can do.”
Other leaders including the AAP's Sanjeev Jha also tweeted and encouraged people to pledge and promote the cause.
In India, one can pledge to donate their organs to the nodal body, National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), an organisation under the union health ministry.The organisation is headquartered at the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.
