Funerals of organ donors to be conducted with state honours, says Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced that the last rites of people who donated their organs before their death will be conducted with full state honours, in a move aimed at encouraging more people to come forward to donate organs.

Chief Minister M K Stalin said Tamil Nadu is the No 1 state in the country on organ donation which gives a new lease of life to hundreds of patients whose organs fail due to various reasons.

“This achievement has been made possible by the selfless sacrifices of families who come forward to donate organs of their loved ones even when they grieve their death,” Stalin added.

He also said the decision to give state honours for the funeral was taken by the government in order to honour and respect the sacrifices of the organ donors and their families. Tamil Nadu was the first state to set up an authority for transplant in 2008 and since then, as many as 9,087 organs have been harvested and transplanted on patients.

Dr J Amalorpavanathan, the first convenor of the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN), welcomed the announcement, calling it a “progressive step.”

“I don’t think any state or even a country has made such an announcement. According highest honour to organ donors shows the importance that the state attaches to their generosity and acknowledges it. Such a high honour is not even accorded to lawmakers and senior-most bureaucrats,” Amalorpavanathan told DH.

“This is the highest possible respect that can be given to anyone, and I am glad organ donors will receive it, hereafter. This will certainly encourage many to donate their organs,” he added.

In Tamil Nadu, eight government hospitals offer kidney and liver transplant services as against 89 in the private sector.