On the occasion of World Organ Donation Day, which is celebrated on August 6, the Coimbatore chapters of CII and Yi, in association with 12 reputed city hospitals, have come together to increase the general awareness about organ donation. As part of the awareness campaign, billboards and posters on the need for donating organs are going to be put up all over the city.

As part of the celebrations, Dr. Amalorpavanathan, of the Cadaver Transplant Programme, will speak on the relevance on organ transplantation.

According to Dr. Raja Sabapathy, convener of the panel, nearly 5 lakh people die each year due to organ failure. These patients can be saved if they could get donor organs. “Organs from one donor can save eight lives,” he said.

Tamil Nadu, he said, is No.1 in India when it comes to cadaver transplantation. In the past five years, more than 2500 organs have been harvested from 540 donors in the state – more than ten times than any other Indian state.

Calling organ transplantation “one of the greatest miracles of modern medical science,” Dr. S. Vivekanandan, chief of Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, said that the list of patients waiting for replacement organs continues to grow.