Organ Donor Awareness Week 2012 - 'Gifting Life'

August 8-14, 2012

Organ donor awareness week is celebrated in different countries around the world at different dates to honor donors and donor families and to address the dire need of organ donors everywhere in the world. Health experts, NGOs and government organizations use this week to encourage organ and tissue donation that can give a fresh lease of life to many, languishing for want of an organ transplant to continue living.

There is a constant need for creating awareness on organ donation, especially in developing countries where people are gradually getting educated in this crucial area. Organ donor awareness week is a fitting time for people to learn all about organ donation, discuss it with family and friends, decide to pledge their organs, become a “card carrying donor” and inform people close to them about the pledge.

What does Organ Donation mean?

The human body is remarkably equipped to survive after receiving organs or tissues from a near relative, family member or someone with a close match that can be accepted by the patient’s body.  A donation of organs such as liver, part of a liver, kidneys, heart, eyes etc. can all be transplanted from one person to another—some from a living donor and some from a ‘brain dead person’. Thus organ donation can help to improve another person’s quality of life and at times give a second chance at life in case of an organ failure.

• eyes, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, heart, intestinal organs etc can be harvested from a brain dead (deceased) donor

• a living person can donate a kidney, or a part of the liver, lung, intestine, or pancreas

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Real Life Stories of Organ Donors

Real life stories of brave ‘heroes’ who pledged their organs to save lives and their courageous family members who overcame their grief and acted promptly to allow the organ donation to materialize, can inspire others to seriously consider passing on the gift of life to others.

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Last week in South India, M.Sharanya, a 21-year-old engineer who had a positive outlook on organ donation had met with a serious road accident while returning from a career development program near Salem. After she was declared brain dead at the Kovai Medical Center, her parents remembered their daughter‘s desire to donate her organs to save other lives.  Sharanya’s parents tearfully gave their permission to doctors to harvest her eyes, liver, kidneys, heart valves which were sent to different hospitals for immediate transplant procedures on patients waiting for those precious organs donated by Sharanya even after her death.

Common Myths that Hamper Donor Registration

International surveys reveal certain common myths that deter people from pledging their organs:

• Wrong belief that ‘brain death’ does not mean fully dead and the person can recover

• Wrong belief that doctors may not try hard enough to save their lives if doctors know about their wish to be an organ donor

• Wrong religious belief that a dead person’s body minus vital organs is incomplete and hence the dead person cannot ‘rest in peace’ 

• Wrong belief that there is a buy-sell black market that can take care of demand for organs and tissue transplant

• Wrong belief that people’s history of medical ailments will render them unacceptable as donors

Need to Raise Awareness on Organ Donation

On each occasion of Organ awareness campaign, people get a donor card and pledge their organs in good faith. But they fail to carry their donor card or forget to inform their close ones about their desire to donate organs in the event of a mishap.

If victims of accidents are declared brain dead and if their organs are harvested on time, countless lives can be saved. Organ Donor Awareness Week is a fitting platform to honor donor families, educate the public on organ donation and get them to carry a donor card that can be a lifeline to patients waiting to receive organ donations.

As part of its regular Organ donation awareness initiative, MOHAN foundation (Multi Organ Harvesting Network) has organized a program at Raj Bhavan on Thursday August 9, 2012 when the governor of Tamilnadu, South India, His Excellency Dr. Rosaiah will release the Indian Transplant newsletter and honor donor families.

Get a donor card and pledge your organs today! Save lives!

Download an Organ Donor card from http://www.mohanfoundation.org/downloads.asp

Source-Medindia