Artemis Hospitals Gurugram inaugurates #LifeCanBeginAfterDeath campaign

Gurugram: To enhance awareness and knowledge surrounding organ transplants, Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram, has inaugurated the #LifeCanBeginAfterDeath campaign. The initiative aims to shed light on the crucial role brain-dead patients can play in addressing the organ shortage crisis while also curbing illegal organ trading.

The awareness programme, titled ‘Road Traffic Accident, Brain Death, and Organ Donation’ highlighted the significance of organ transplants, emphasising the vital contribution brain-dead patients can make in saving lives through organ donation.

Speaking about the programme, Poonam Kumari, SHO, Traffic Police, Gurugram, emphasised the importance of creating awareness for organ donation. Moreover, Kumari underscored the importance of disseminating awareness via diverse campaigns, asserting that they could significantly contribute to a rise in organ donations. She emphasised that such extensive awareness initiatives are vital.

Dr Devlina Chakravarty, Managing Director, Artemis Hospital, Gurugram said, “It's become highly important to reduce the existing gap in organ donations, especially from brain-dead patients, to save lives.”

She added, “India has taken huge strides and made rapid progress across different spheres including healthcare and medical science but the organ donation in India is merely 0.52 per million population despite our huge population and the innumerable accident victims who have become brain-dead patients. This is mainly due to lack of awareness”. She pointed out that India is way behind Spain which has the world’s highest organ donation at 49.6 per million.

Varun Mittal, Mittal, Head, Kidney Transplant & Associate Chief, Uro-Oncology & Robotic Surgery (Unit I), Artemis Hospitals, said, “Key vital organs like kidneys, etc can be harvested from live cadavers or living donors. It can’t be harvested from a dead person, hence the emphasis on creating awareness and education on how brain-dead people can save lives by being donors.”

He added that in India of the 15,561 organ transplants performed, 12,791 that is 82 per cent -- a majority are from live donors – while a mere 18 per cent or 2,765 are from cadavers. “If the donors from the latter category increase, then several of the 3,00,000 plus patients waiting for organ transplant in India can benefit in a big way,” he observed.

Organ donation is all about giving life and those who pledge to do so help the hundreds of helpless patients. While it is unfortunate that nearly 1.5 lakh fatalities occur every year in the country due to road accidents, a large number of these victims become brain dead and they could provide life to many if their families have the vision and donate the organs of their dear one when there is no hope left for revival, it will help save hundreds of lives.

Providing a comprehensive view of the whole issue of live cadaver organ donation, Dr (Col) Avnish Seth, VSM, Head, Medical Gastroenterology and Manipal Organ Sharing and Transplant, Manipal Hospital, New Delhi, talked about the current problems in India apart from dealing at length on the way forward. “Organ donation is a profound act of compassion and generosity. Through this awareness meeting, we aim to illuminate the path to understanding brain death and inspire individuals to consider the incredible impact they can have by choosing to donate organs. We aim to spread the awareness that Life can begin after death,” he said.