Organ Donation: A Ray of Hope

supriyaprajapati45
Oct 4, 2022
3 min read

Scientifically we can define organ donation as a procedure of removing organ from one individual and transplanting it to other individual because of their medical condition of organ failure. Every Year 13th August is celebrated as Organ Donation Day. First ever kidney donation was conducted by Doctor Joseph Murray in year 1954, Ronald Lee Herrick donated one kidney to his twin brother.

In the year 1948 India's first cornea transplant was happened. The nations first eye bank was established by Dr. RES Muthayya in Government Ophthalmic Hospital and Chennai's Regional Institute Of Ophthalmology.

In past times there were a saying - "There is no bigger Daan than Kanyadaan".

But not know.

"There is no bigger donation than Organ Donation"

National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO)

NHS Organ Donation

Organ Donation: FAQs

Is there any age limit in organ donation?

There is no age limit for organ donation.

Tissues of Organ we can donate

In organs a person can donate:

Heart
Kidney
Pancreas
Lungs
Liver
Eyes
Skin

Tissues we can donate - Bones, Ligaments, Tendons, Fascia, Veins, Nerves.

A person with illness, can still donate?

Even if in the case of illness, In deceased condition doctor will decide if donation is possible.

How does organ donation matching to patient works?

Most important source for organ donor matching with patient is -

Blood Type

Crossmatch

HLA Testing

Body Type

Tissue Type

Status of Sickness

And it also depends on geographical location.

Does organ donation affects your health?

There are some common side effects of living donation similar to other surgery like pain, infection, blood loss, allergic reactions.

Organ Transplant Guide

Know more about organ donation, Myths and Facts

Organ Donation: Statistics

According to HRSA, Every minute 9 people are added to waiting list and 17 people dies every day in waiting list of organ transplant.

In year 2021, 40,000+ organ donation were performed.

*Others include transplants like face, skin, hands and abdominal walls.

Above report published by Health Resources & Services Administration - Patients on waiting list vs Transplants performed.

Detailed list of patients on waiting list vs transplant performed based on different age can be found on below website :

Health Resources & Services Administration

Real Life Heroes

“After I die if I am buried I will rot. If I am burnt I will become ash but if my body is donated I will live to give life and happiness to many." - Amit Abraham

“Karma is a big deal, and if you sign up as an organ donor, it would be a good deed.” - Abhishek ( 7th standard student & Donor Advocate & Ambassador California)

Raj Kapoor
Kiran Rao
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Gautam Gambhir
Zell Kravinsky
Dick Cass
Oscar Robertson
Justin Wilson

Real Life Experience of Recipients

Loosing someone dear is very painful and grieving, but there are some kind families who changed life of recipient and their family.

“Give yourself and those in need an elixir of life by pledging your organs.” - Mohith Agadi

Blake (Heart Recipient)- “I know I have someone else's heart inside of me. Someone was generous enough to give me a second chance to live.”
America (Kidney Recipient) - "We went for a checkup and came home with a kidney. It was a miracle."
AJ (Kidney Recipient) - “I literally have a second chance at life.”
Brendan (Double Arm Recipient) - “I can’t not think about (the donor) every time I do anything. It is because of her and her family. I wouldn’t be able to do anything that I do today without them.”
Haley (Five Organ Recipient) - “I can’t believe I’m here, I don’t have a line in me, I’m three hours from the hospital, and I don’t feel like I’m going to die. It’s just incredible!”