Donation

Organ donation is the process of allowing organ or tissue to be removed surgically from one person to place it in another person or to use it for research purpose. It is done by the consent of donor in case he is alive or by the consent of next of kin after death. Organ donation is encouraged worldwide.

Kidneys, liver, lungs, heart, bones, bone marrow, skin, pancreas, corneas, intestines and skin are commonly used for transplantation to render new life to the recipient. Organ donation is mostly done after the donor’s death. However, certain organs and tissues such as a kidney, lobe of a lung, portion of the liver, intestine or pancreas can be donated by living donors as well.

There are two types of consents when it comes to organ donation. These are the explicit consent and the presumed consent.

• Explicit Consent: Under this the donor provides a direct consent through registration and carrying out other required formalities based on the country.
• Presumed Consent: This does not include a direct consent from the donor or the next of kin. As the name suggests, it is assumed that the donation would have been allowed by the potential donor in case consent was pursued.

Among the possible donors approximately twenty five percent of the families deny donation of their loved one’s organs.

• Legalised by Law

Organ donations are legal as per the Indian law. The Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994 enacted by the government of India permits organ donation and legalizes the concept of brain death.

• Documentation and Formalities

The donor is required to fill a prescribed form. The same can be taken from the hospital or other medical facility approached for organ donation or can be downloaded from the ministry of health and family welfare government of India’s website.

In case of a deceased donor, a written consent from the lawful custodian is required in the prescribed application form.

• Statistics

As is the case with the rest of the world, the demand of organs in India is much higher compared to their supply. There is a major shortage of donated organs in the country. Several patients are on the wait list and many of them succumb to death waiting for organ transplant.

The government of India is making efforts to spread awareness about organ transplant to encourage the same. However, it needs to take effective steps to raise the number of donors.