Organ Donation Day: Let Your Body Give Life Beyond Death

It’s often said that the body is mortal, but the soul is immortal. Yet, through organ donation, parts of the body can achieve a form of immortality by helping others live. By donating organs, we can give sight to the blind and life to the critically ill. Organ donation is a generous decision to allow your body, after death, to benefit those in need.

Anyone over 18 can voluntarily donate their organs to the government. Next of kin can also decide to donate a loved one’s organs if the person is brain dead.

Why Donate Organs?

We all face death eventually. Instead of simply burning our bodies to ashes, which consumes resources and causes pollution, organ donation offers a way to give back. For example, using white coal instead of wood for cremation reduces environmental impact. Pune and Nagpur have successfully implemented this during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other municipalities, like Nanded, are encouraged to follow suit.

Overcoming Barriers of Tradition and Custom

Tradition, custom, and superstition often hinder organ donation. Changing mindsets, especially in rural areas, is crucial. Misunderstandings and ignorance about organ donation are common. Funeral practices vary by religion, creating additional barriers. A massive campaign is needed to educate people and encourage organ donation. Schools should also include organ donation in their curriculum to instill awareness from a young age.

Methods of Organ Donation

Organ donation can be done in three ways:

1. While Alive: Donating blood, liver, pancreas, lungs, kidneys, and part of the intestine.
2. After Natural Death: Donating eyes, skin, heart valves, subcutaneous tissue, ear bones, and blood vessels.
3. After Brain Death: Donating eyeballs, eardrums, kidneys, skin, bones, arms, legs, uterus, liver, heart, pancreas, and intestines.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar government committee decides on brain death cases. The Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee arranges organ donations with hospitals and doctors within five hours. Potential donors must register with this committee.

Government Efforts

In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of organ donation. Following this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a campaign from Mumbai. Today, 25 charity organizations work towards promoting organ donation in the state. Leaders like Purushottam Pawar and Sunil Deshpande have raised awareness through extensive campaigns.

State Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has decreed that government officials should honor organ donors at their funerals, providing emotional support to grieving families. State Health Education Minister Hasan Mushrif aims to facilitate organ donation processes in all district hospitals. Each hospital should have a dedicated cell for organ donation and appoint an expert to manage it. This initiative has led to increased public awareness and efforts across the state, including Nanded.

Organ donation is a simple yet profound act of charity. We must embrace it ourselves and inform our relatives of our decision to donate our organs after death.

Nanded Continues the Organ Donation Campaign

On October 17, 2016, Sudhir Rawalkar performed the first organ donation in Nanded. More recently, on July 3, 2024, Abhijit Dhoke also donated his organs. Since 2017, we have been actively promoting organ donation. The success of this campaign in the district owes much to the combined efforts of Dr. Shankarao Chavan Government Medical Hospital and private medical institutions in the city. A private hospital in Nanded notably facilitated a Green Corridor, making a sixth organ donation possible just the other day. The dedication of medical professionals in private hospitals has been commendable.

In Nanded, many citizens have embraced the idea of organ donation. If anyone in Nanded wishes to donate an organ, they can submit their application at Dr. Shankarao Chavan Government Medical Hospital and College in Vishnupuri. The cremation process is carried out with the permission of the donor’s relatives. I have personally written extensively on this topic and have a wealth of material available to provide to interested citizens.

However, it’s crucial to instill awareness about organ donation from a young age. On today’s Organ Donation Day, it is hoped that this commitment to saving lives will be embraced by everyone.