JOIN USInformed decision of families for organ transplantation can help save lives as there are several brain dead patients whose families do not agree to donate organs due to old beliefs, said doctors.
Only 1,100 cadaver organ donations have taken place in India since 2007, whereas over 20,000 such donations have taken place in the US in 2010 itself, said Dr Anupam Sibal, group medical director at Apollo Hospital.
Doctors highlighted that India needs 6,000 heart transplants in a year. Families of two persons who donated their organs after death were also present at this event organised to felicitate them for this noble gesture.
Need more donors
Renuka Raman, mother of Venya Raman, who was four years old when she died of brain haemorrhage, said more people should come forward to donate organs which are healthy. “We went to several hospitals to get her checked as she had meningitis as soon as she was born,” she said.
Mindset needs to change
She added that initially when the family decided to donate the child’s organs, some relatives showed resentment. “They said if we donate her eyes, during her next birth she will be born blind. These are just beliefs. We need to change people’s mindsets,” said Renuka.
“The health ministry has given some recommendations to the ministry of transport on the new organ transplant bill suggesting that people should have the choice to become a organ donor when they come to get their licences made,” said Dr Sandeep Guleria, senior consultant surgeon at Apollo.