Lack of awareness, deep-rooted superstitions and myths are the cause of India’s severe organ wastage crisis, resulting in loss of vital organs every year, experts said on Tuesday on the occasion of World Organ Donation Day. World Organ Donation Day is observed every year on August 13 to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and dispel myths surrounding it. The cadaveric organ donation rate in India has been abysmally low and stands at less than one per million people in the country. In stark contrast, Western countries have 70-80 per cent cadaveric organ donations.
“India is facing a severe organ wastage crisis, losing an estimated 200,000 kidneys and other vital organs annually due to lack of awareness, deep-rooted superstitions and myths surrounding brain death,” Dr Tanima Das Bhattacharya, Consultant, Nephrologist and Renal Transplant, Narayana Health, Kolkata, told IANS. Bhattacharya added that “the loss is compounded by lack of proper identification and certification of brain deaths in hospitals, which significantly reduces the country’s organ donation rates despite the availability of potential donors.”
Experts pointed out that even with recent directives by the Union Health Ministry to improve documentation of deaths from brain stem-related causes, the cadaveric organ donation rate remains alarmingly low — less than one donor per million population per year. “In a country as populous as India, it is a tragic irony that thousands of life-saving organs go to waste every year. The gap between the number of organs available and the patients in need of them is huge, and wastage of viable organs due to logistical and systemic challenges is a critical issue that demands immediate attention,” Dr Rajesh Aggarwal, Director, Nephrology and Renal Transplant, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Delhi, told IANS.
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Dr Suganthi Iyer, Director, Legal and Medical Affairs, PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, added that organ wastage in India can be significantly reduced by addressing the lack of awareness among healthcare professionals and the public, particularly in rural areas, about organ donation after brain stem death. “Also, increasing the number of hospitals registered as Non-Transplant Organ Recovery Centres (NTORCs) is critical. Specific training for healthcare workers and community outreach can further help curb wastage,” she told IANS.
Citing the example of Spain, Dr Bhattacharya suggested shifting India’s focus from donors after brain death (DBD) to donors after circulatory death (DCD). This has huge potential to curb organ wastage, he noted. Spain’s National Transplant Organisation (ONT) model, which includes organ donations from patients experiencing circulatory death, has dramatically increased its organ donation rate. Experts also called for ramping up infrastructure, streamlining organ transportation protocols and ensuring that every potential donor’s donation is honoured by minimising any delay in transplantation. When a brain-dead patient is identified, there is only a narrow window of just 12 hours to retrieve and transplant the organs. This requires perfect coordination and quick action. “With every organ that is not transplanted on time, we lose the opportunity to save multiple lives, so it is imperative for us to strengthen our organ recovery and transplantation networks,” Dr Aggarwal said.
“To bridge the gap between demand and supply of organs, India must implement a comprehensive and centralised organ donation registry, revise laws and launch extensive awareness campaigns to encourage more pledges of organ donation and facilitate easier organ retrieval procedures,” said Dr Bhattacharya.
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