On Karnataka’s cadaver transplant record:

Since ZCCK was formed, we have received 11 Cadaver donors out of which three came forward voluntarily. However, there has been a momentous jump in the last 6-8 months. We performed five Cadaver transplants since December 2008. Currently, there are around 30 hospitals supporting Cadaver transplant in the State.

On the cost involved:

The hospital stops charging the family, when a family decides to donate the organs of their loved ones. ZCCK takes care of this cost. This comes from the corpus based on the registration fee. The hospital that receives the organ also pays a processing fee to us.

On the main hurdles for Cadaver transplants:

The main problem is lack of awareness. People need to be educated, and the concept of brain dead should be driven into people's mind. A person is declared brain dead, when his brain has stopped functioning but the heart still beats due to artificial ventilator. Now, in such a case, the patients is dead for all practical purposes but his organs can be donated as they are still get oxygen.

Another deterrent is if there is delay in retrieving the organs. The relatives want to perform the last rites of the deceased as quickly as possible. So any delay from the hospital's side will only put them off.