Pledging organs for donation has been made easy in the State with the government providing an opportunity while applying for driving licence.
In a first of its kind in the country, the State government on Monday launched an initiative to mention ‘organ donor’ option on the driving licence.
Anyone above the age of 18, will be given an opportunity to pledge organs while applying for the licence at the Regional Transport Office.
The pledge, however, is a voluntary action. The Transport and Health departments have launched the initiative in association with Gift Your Organ Foundation. Speaking at the launch, Dr P Satish Chandra, Director, Nimhans, said the habit of donating organs was yet to be inculcated in the country.
“We have 1.4 lakh accidental deaths every year. Of these, 98,000 people are declared brain dead. But the nation still has not been able to create awareness on donating organs,” he said.
In Bangalore, the Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK) has been facing a severe shortage of kidneys. While as many as 685 kidneys are required, the ZCCK in the last seven months has managed to find only eight donors, he said.
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