Government proposes option of organ donation when applying for driving licence

NEW DELHI: The government is firming up a proposal to give people the option to pledge their organ while applying for a driving licence.

NEW DELHI: The government is firming up a proposal to give people the option to pledge their organ while applying for a driving licence.

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If an individual opts for donating his organ, a symbol in the driving license will indicate his consent. A common practice in many countries including US, UK, Australia, Spain, Japan and New Zealand, in India the proposed policy has been hanging fire for several years with the Union road transport and highways ministry failing to take a final call.

“We are working on revising the form. An option will be introduced in the form asking the applicant if he wants to donate his organs in case of death in a road accident,” said a senior road ministry official, adding that once the application forms are revised, the format of the current driving licence will also be changed to include the organ donation consent.

In India, a huge gap exists between demand and supply of human organs for transplantation. According to health ministry data, against a current requirement of one to two lakh kidneys, only about 5,000 transplantations are being done annually. Similarly against a requirement of 30,000 liver transplantation requirements, about 1,000 is being done.