Kamal Ghorui
…For more people to follow the example of a Kerala couple, trust in state organ donation system is essential
Parents of Aalin Sherin Abraham showed courage and compassion in donating their brain-dead infant’s body parts. The gesture has given life and vision to four children. Organ donation isn’t easy – a complex of beliefs & values, rituals, science & logistics, and most importantly trust in the state framework, from recovery to transplantation. Kerala’s little Aalin made history as a child donor.
Aalin was laid to rest in Kerala with state honours, a policy in TN where all organ donors’ last rites are held with state honours. TN recognised “relatives…make the sacrifice at a time of grief”. Such measures show respect and help expand the idea of organ donation. This came alongside TN govt expanding on infra for organ retrieval, transport and transplantation. State health insurance funds organ transplant and post-transplant medical requirements. A pain point across most of India is that while retrievals are in public hospitals, transplants are almost entirely (85%) in private ones, procedures costing a bomb. So, TN inspires public trust.
Indians are wary of organ donation, altruism rare in our society. In-family live donors, that too women, are more common while deceased organ retrieval remains a long shot. TN saw over 18k road deaths in 2024, second only to UP’s 24k. Per an LS answer, in 2022 TN had 1,846 donors compared to UP’s 232. As need for organs grows countrywide, state govts must step up to the task. Proactive govts can take a leaf out of govt initiatives for blood donation. Today, almost all blood required across India is replacement blood from relatives, and via altruistic donations.
Without govt initiatives, organ trade fills the gap between demand and supply to a brutal extent. Loan sharks trap people, force them to sell organs; jobless men were taken to Cambodia for a kidney to be removed; hospitals run organ rackets under the garb of ‘medical tourism’. Meanwhile, TN is using an AI application that predicts kidney graft survival for up to 14 years with 80% accuracy. Families will take tough decisions, cross that emotional barrier when govts take the initiative.
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