Centre to launch campaign to promote organ donation

New Delhi: Centre will launch a major campaign to promote organ donation in the country and advisories will be issued to state governments to replicate the organ retrieval banking organisation (ORBO) model of AIIMS, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said today.

“Realising the importance of organ donation, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) also mentioned about it in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ following which, as AIIMS director has said that they have received huge response.

“Being a minister in the government, it is our responsibility to launch it as a major campaign and nothing like starting with AIIMS which is a premiere institution. Starting from AIIMS, we should connect to all other medical institutes in the country. All central military force and state police organisations should take a cue from Delhi Police on how they contributed, co-ordinated with the management to facilitate organ donation,” Rijiju said.

The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs was speaking at a programme at AIIMS, wherein 28 Delhi police officers were felicitated for their contribution in organ donation.

The minister further said Centre will ensure that there is “no shortage” in terms of legislative backing and administrative set up to promote the cause.

Rijiju further nominated the DCP (south district) as nodal officer to co-ordinate in all organ donation cases in the city.

AIIMS director M C Misra, who was also present at the event, demanded that cardiac deaths should also be included in the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

Unlike brain death cases, in which a person is announced dead clinically on neurologic criteria, donation after cardiac death is considered in cases where there is irreversible cessation of respiratory and circulatory function.

Misra also demanded that the duration of six hours, which a team of doctors usually takes to initiate the process of organ transplant after the person is declared brain dead, should be reduced to one to two hours.

Over 2.5 lakh people in the country require organ transplantation in a year, however, less than 10 per cent get timely help.

Majority of the cases of organ donation are medico-legal cases which require efficient co-ordination between the hospital and police personnel so that organs are timely harvested and remain viable for transplantation.