Living through another

Our body is precious and can be the source of a new life for someone else, provided we pledge to donate our organs before leaving this world, says Jamuna Rangachari

- Jamuna Rangachari

Many of us wonder how we can help others. If we realise that the greatest gift we have been given is our body and if we can help others revive theirs when we move to the next world in our spiritual journey, we certainly can give them the greatest gift of all.

During the time my husband was in the Indian Navy, I remember a young army soldier lying in bed, surrounded by his parents who were full of joy because their son had got a liver transplant through the Organ Donation Scheme of the Defence. Even today, this scheme is well implemented and managed by the army (R&R Hospital) extremely efficiently, as this requires discipline, which the Indian Army possesses in good measure.

This system is still not well known in India; many talk about it vaguely. A huge gap exists between patients in need of organ transplants and potential donors. It's not that there cannot be enough organs to transplant. Nearly every person who dies naturally or has a brain death is a potential donor. Even so, innumerable patients cannot find a donor. Acute shortage of organs is a universal problem, more so in developing Asian countries like India. According to the Union Health Ministry statistics for 2011, only 4000 kidney transplants were carried out, as against a requirement of 1,50,000. Similarly, 500 livers were transplanted, leaving some 20,000 in waiting.