Will Harish Nanjappa be the 'Hitendran' of Karnataka? The heartbreaking story of this young man has become the fulcrum for organ donation across the state. Members of the medical fraternity and NGOs, working actively in the field, believe the tragic tale could help build awareness among youngsters about the benefits of organ donation.
The Maharashtra government plans to put a cap on what private airline operators can demand while flying a human organ. The state's Directorate of Health Services (DHS) has called for a meeting of all stakeholders, including charter plane operators, hospitals and surgeons, on January 27, to discuss the logistics of sharing organs between cities.
One day in early June 2014, the heart from a brain-dead 27-year-old man, a car crash victim, was sped from one hospital to another in Chennai, India. It was 6:30 p.m., right in the middle of rush hour, and 26 police officers worked hard to keep the 8-mile route free of traffic.
Recently in the city to perform for the cause of organ donation, playback singers Roop Kumar Rathod and Sunali Rathod charmed Jaipur's audience with their voice. Roop Kumar said, "Our voice is all we have got to lend for this cause. And if this makes a difference, we couldn't be happier to oblige."
Don’t take your organs to heaven. Heaven knows we need them here. This popular quote by an unknown author sufficiently sums up the current scenario in the country. A huge gap exists between patients who need organ transplants and potential donors.
Every year, around 75,000 patients are declared brain dead in the city. Despite such a large number of these patients, only 0.3 per cent organs are donated. In the last two years, only eight brain dead patients donated organs. Presently, 200 patients are waiting for kidney donors in the city.
To promote the cause of organ donation in India, The I Support O Campaign was recently conducted in Chennai. Reportedly, it received more than 10000 signatures from Chennaites and more than 1000 people signed off for their organ donation.
"Hai . ravi from kakinada . age 30. o positive.... 8 lacks money ergent... plss cont. 99xxxxxx9" says one post on the website. "Guys could you please help me to get geniune buyer... o+ve blood group... if anybody interested contact me on this no +9192xxxxxxx3... i am in serious debt trouble..." That's Nagarjuna, from Hyderabad.
The idea of kidnapping an unknown person, administering carbon monoxide and harvesting their organs may make a thrilling plot for a movie, but transplantation experts say storylines like this prove to be a setback to the efforts to promote cadaver organ transplantation.
Advocates of organ donation from across the country gathered at Kokilaben Ambani Hospital in Andheri on Friday to deliberate on how the fragmented national programme can be unified and strengthened to save more lives. As hospital and NGO heads, doctors, government officials debated the practical roadblocks, a consensus emerged that the country has to have a well-defined target that it must to strive to achieve.
