Organ donation after death is a big movement the world. In India the statistics speak of an abysmal scenario. AIIMS Director Dr. MC Mishra has rued the "very low" organ donations in the country at 0.05 donations per million. The Organ Receiving & Giving Awareness Network (ORGAN) India is one of the many NGO's in organ donation to educate the general public to donate body organs after death. Launched in March 2013 by The Parashar Foundation, Organ India serves to bridge the gap between the government, the hospitals and the organ donor.

What is organ donation?

Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue/ organ from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of an organ transplant. It is a surgical procedure by which the healthy organ is taken from one person and transplanted into another. The person who gives the organs is called organ donor; and the person who receives it is the organ recipient. Transplants of vital organs like a liver transplant, kidney transplant or bone marrow transplant can save the recipient’s life. Tissue transplants like cornea transplant (the transparent layer at the front of the eye) can significantly improve the recipient’s quality of life.

Some organs can be donated while the donor is alive. The other is cadaver organ donation where a person voluntarily pledges his / her organs after death. Organ India has undertaken interactive campaigns to increase awareness about deceased organ donation. You can pledge your organs and save lives. Register yourself and signing up for an organ donor card.

The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, governs the rules of organ donation in India. The essence of this legislation was threefold:

1. To accept brain death as also a definition of death.
2. To stop commercial dealing in organs
3. To define the first relative (father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter and wife) who could donate organs without permission from the government. In event of the donor not being a first relative an approval had to be obtained by a government appointed authorization committee in each state of the country.

Organ India helps explain the concept and the co-relation of “brain death” and organ donation.

What is brain death? Brain death occurs when a person has an irreversible, catastrophic brain injury, which causes total cessation of all brain functions. It is NOT the same as coma or persistent vegetative state. The challenge is the controversy surrounding the issue of brain death and the medical fraternity itself being divided on the issue of “Is brain death really death?” The challenges are compounded by the fact that numerous superstitions and misconceptions pertaining to pledging organs; despite the larger public being favorably inclined towards eye donation.

Organ India highlights organ donor stories and successful organ recipient stories to spread awareness. However, harnessing media power (for example, a film on brain death), campaigns featuring social influencers and celebrities in organ donation along with a concerted but sustained effort by the government would certainly help in taking a big step forward.