India is still to catch up with the global standards set in organ donation. The country is still lagging behind in terms of sheer numbers of cadaver donations made every year and there is a huge demand-supply gap to be bridged in this life-saving sector, said Dr G Bhakthavasalam, Chairman KG Hospitals.

Delivering his address at the National Symposium on Improving Organ donation and Organ Utilisation, organised by KG Hospital and Post Graduate Medical Institute, he said that even though about 10,000 patients get cadaver and live donations every year, the demand gap has only increased, as over 20 lakh patients are being added to the existing pool of those already awaiting organ transplants.

Despite about 2 lakh road casualties, only 10 per cent of road deaths are converted into organ donation, which is abysmally low, when compared to global standards. “More people should come forward to donate organs as it could give a new lease of life to a patient,” he said.

Dr Ilangovan Veerappan, Chief Nephrologist of KG Hospitals, said that cadaver donation rate, had remained almost constant in recent years. While 170 cadaver donations are made in Tamil Nadu in 2016, it was 150 in 2015. About 32 cadaver organ donations and only two live donations are made for every 1 lakh population in India, he said.

Most cadaver donations comprise of organs such as liver, heart, kidneys and eyes; skin, pancreas, and lung transplants are made infrequently. People who suffer road deaths and stroke victims are potential donors for cadaver donation, but a cadaver donation pledge made by a person doesn’t have any legal binding if after his death his relatives refuse to donate his organs, he said.

Noting that Coimbatore leads the way in organ donation, next only to Chennai, Dr Ilangovan said KG Hospitals, KMCH, Ramakrishna Hospitals and PSG Hospitals are in the forefront of organ transplants, and he exhorted every citizen to promote organ donation.

About 150 delegates from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai took part in the symposium.