New Delhi: In a donor felicitation ceremony organised by All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) here on Wednesday Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan appealed to the people to participate in organ donation efforts.
Echoing the same view, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju said, "There is a crisis for organ donation in India."
Around 50 donors were felicitated in the programme.
According to statistics, there is a huge gap between demand and supply of human organs and tissues.
In India, around 1.5 lakh patients require kidney transplantation but only 7,500-8,000 patients get it.
According to the statistics compiled by the Organ Retrieval Banking Organisation (ORBO), around 75,000 to 80,000 patients require liver transplants annually but only around 1800 are performed.
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Similarly, 1 lakh patients are in need of corneal transplantation but only 50,000 undergo a corneal transplant. In the case of heart transplantation, the scenario is much more dismal.
More than 10,000 people require heart transplant whereas only 150-200 transplants are being performed annually.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Manoj Sethi kin of an organ donator also appealed that people should come forward and take party in this noble cause.
Manoj Sethi's mother has donated her eyes and kidney years back.
"It was a wish of my mother that she should do something for the country even after her death. So when she suffered brain death following a minor accident, we contacted ORBO and donated her eyes and kidney," recalled Seth.
The organ donation in India is estimated to be 0.65 per million population.
In western countries, the rate of organ donation is much higher. In Spain 48.0 per million population (highest in the world), in USA 33.32 per million population and in UK 24.52 per million population.
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