BACKGROUND

In India, there is a dire shortage of organs available for donation. Unfortunately, there is no such shortage of people in need of a transplant: there are over 500,000 people in India who are suffering from end-stage organ failure, and the odds of finding an organ are very low. Most of these people die while waiting for a transplant. With incidences of organ failure going up in our populations, any one of us or our loved ones could need a transplant. 

One organ donor can save upto 8 lives and one tissue donor can make the lives of 50 people better. And with incidences of organ failure going up in our populations, any one of us or our loved ones could need a transplant. 

The estimated annual total of brain stem deaths due to accidents in India is nearly 150,000, which does not even include other causes of brain stem death. Despite this large number, our organ donation rate is only 0.86 per million population, with a mere total of 905 deceased donors in India in 2017. Contrastingly, the demand for human organ donation is immense, with an annual need of approximately 500,000 organs. Only around 2-3 percent of this demand is met, which leads to an unnecessarily high rate of death from organ failure every year across India.

At Or.D.E.R., we believe that signing up to be an organ donor is one of the easiest ways to make a difference. Anyone who might need an organ transplant one day ought to seriously consider doing it – and that includes all of us! Our challenge is to tackle misconceptions about organ donation, to dispel fears and to build confidence in the act of giving both in potential donors and their families.