Tamil Nadu pioneer in organ donation

Today is World Organ Donation Day. Advancements in the field of medicine have opened up new avenues to save human lives. One of the most important of these is organ donation. Organ donation is the act of donating one’s organs to others while one is alive or after brain death. Donating one’s organs helps in restoring the lives of others.
Many organs and tissues including the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, eyes, skin, etc. can be donated. These organs give a new lease of life to those suffering from life-threatening diseases. In India, lakhs of people wait for organ transplants every year. However, due to low awareness about organ donation, getting the required organs is a major challenge.
To bridge this gap, awareness about organ donation and public participation are necessary. Keeping this in mind, the late Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi introduced the organ donation scheme for the first time in Tamil Nadu in 2008.  In 2008, the number of organ donors was just 7. After that, organ donation, which had been increasing gradually, decreased only during the Corona pandemic.
The number of organ donors has been increasing continuously since 2023 and reached its peak last year (2024). This is due to an important announcement made by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. It is an announcement that in order to encourage organ donation, the Tamil Nadu government will provide state honors to the bodies of brain-dead people who receive organ donations from September 2023. This is having a huge impact on the society.
So far, the bodies of 484 people have been honored by the government. Also, after the organs of those who died of brain death in government hospitals were donated, a ‘parade of respect’ was held. Doctors and medical teams conducted the parade and paid respect until the body of the organ donor was transferred to an ambulance.
In response to the welcome received by the Tamil Nadu government, organ donation and transplant surgeries have increased in Tamil Nadu. In addition, as per the legislative notification, a wall will soon be set up in hospitals to commemorate the names of organ donors. It will be called the ‘Wall of Honor’.
Tamil Nadu set a record by receiving the highest number of organ donations in 2024. A total of 1,500 organs and tissues were donated from 268 donors in 2024. This is the highest number compared to other states.
Tamil Nadu is the pioneer state in India in receiving organs from brain-dead people. Due to its serious work, the Tamil Nadu government has received an award from the Union government for this project.
States including Odisha, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh are following this scheme of government honoring organ donors. There is a little more awareness among the people of Tamil Nadu.  Almost 70 percent of people donate their organs after becoming brain dead.
However, awareness is still needed.