Bhubaneswar: In a bid to encourage organ donation in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced that the funeral of organ donors would be performed with full state honours.
The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in a statement said the government's initiative aims at honouring the courage and sacrifice of the donors to save the lives of others. Honouring the organ doners will also create awareness in society about the importance of organ donation and motivate more people to come forward, Patnaik said.
Noting that organ donation is a noble gesture, Patnaik said the relatives of brain dead people, who take courageous decision on donating the organs, play an important role in saving many human lives. The Odisha government has already set up the State Organ & Tissues Transplant Organization (SOTTO) in 2019. The government also instituted the Suraj Award for the organ donors in 2020, the chief minister said.
The state government instituted Suraj Award after a youth by the same name from Bhanjanagar of Ganjam district sustained critical injuries in a road accident and was declared brain dead by doctors during treatment following which his relatives decided to donate his organs. Their decision helped save the lives of six persons. This apart, the government has been providing Rs 5 lakh from Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the family of organ donors.
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