8 months ago
India Needs Policy to Protect Organ Donors
In India, many people rely on living donors for organ transplants, especially women.
These donors often face pressure, emotional stress, and financial burdens.
The current system doesn't always protect them well.
There's a need for better policies to ensure donors are safe, respected, and supported.
This includes having independent advocates, financial support, and better follow-up care.
Countries like the US and Israel have laws to protect donors, and India should too.
Without proper protection, donors might face hardships, and the transplant system could suffer.
It's important to break the silence and advocate for donors' rights.
India's transplant system relies heavily on living donors, with 84% of transplants in 2023 coming from living donors, 63% of whom were women.
Women often face pressure and emotional stress to donate organs due to patriarchal family structures.
Current protections for living donors are insufficient, with many donors facing financial burdens and lack of follow-up care.
India needs independent living donor advocates, a national donor support fund, and comprehensive policies to protect donors' rights and well-being.
International models, such as the US Living Donor Protection Act and Israel's tax breaks and healthcare for donors, offer guidance for India's policy development.
- Who
- Organ donors, particularly women, in India
- What
- The need for a policy to protect and respect organ donors
- Where
- India
- When
- Present and future
- Why
- To ensure informed, voluntary, and safe organ donation, and to reduce dependence on living donors
Key facts
- Living Donor Transplants in India (2023)
- 84%
- Percentage of Female Living Donors (2023)
- 63%
- Percentage of Female Recipients from Living Donors (2023)
- 36%
- National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation
- NOTTO
- MOHAN Foundation
- Non-profit promoting ethical organ donation
- Living Donor Protection Act
- US law ensuring job and insurance safeguards for donors
- Central Government Employee Leave Policy
- 42-day paid leave for organ donation
Quotes
Another woman
An anonymous living kidney or liver donor
“My family was split – some insisted I donate because he is my husband, while others felt I shouldn’t feel pressured by duty or guilt.”
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“The hospital is focussed only on the patient. I felt invisible – like just a means to an end.”
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A woman
An anonymous living kidney or liver donor
“I had no choice. If I’d refused, I would have been thrown out.”
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