India faces a severe organ wastage crisis, say experts

New Delhi: Lack of awareness, deep-rooted superstitions, and myths are behind India's severe organ wastage crisis that leads to the loss of vital organs annually, said experts on Tuesday on World Organ Donation Day.

World Organ Donation Day is observed every year on August 13 to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and to dispel myths surrounding it.

India's cadaver organ donation rate has been abysmally low and stands at less than one per million people in the country. In stark contrast, Western countries have 70-80 per cent deceased organ donation.

“India faces a severe organ wastage crisis, losing approximately 2 lakh kidneys and other vital organs annually due to a lack of awareness, deep-rooted superstitions, and myths surrounding brain death," Dr. Tanima Das Bhattacharya, Consultant - Nephrologist & Kidney Transplant, Narayana Health, Kolkata, told IANS.

Bhattacharya added that the "loss is compounded by the failure to properly identify and certify brain deaths in hospitals, significantly reducing the country’s organ donation rates despite the availability of potential donors”.

The experts noted that even with recent directives from the Union Health Ministry to improve documentation of brain stem deaths, the cadaver organ donation rate remains alarmingly low -- less than one donor per million population per year.

“In a country as populous as India, it is a tragic irony that thousands of life-saving organs go to waste each year. The gap between the number of available organs and the patients in need is vast, and the wastage of viable organs due to logistical and systemic challenges is a critical issue that demands immediate attention,” Dr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Director, Nephrology & Kidney Transplant, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Delhi, told IANS.

Dr. Suganthi Iyer, Director-Legal and Medical, P. D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre added that organ wastage in India can be significantly reduced by addressing the lack of awareness among healthcare professionals and the public, particularly in rural areas, about organ donation post-brain stem death.

“Additionally, increasing the number of hospitals registered as Non-Transplant Organ Retrieval Centers (NTORC) is crucial. Focused training for healthcare workers and community outreach can further help curb wastage," she told IANS.

Citing the example of Spain, Dr. Bhattacharya suggested shifting India’s focus from Donors after Brain Death (DBD) to Donors after Circulatory Death (DCD). This has huge potential to curb organ wastage, he noted.

Spain's Organizacion Nacional de Transplants (ONT) model, which includes organ donations from patients experiencing circulatory death, has dramatically increased its organ donation rate.

The experts also called for ramping up infrastructure, streamlining organ transport protocols, and ensuring that every potential donor's gift is honoured by minimising any delay in transplantation.

When a brain-dead patient is identified, there is just a narrow window of just 12 hours to retrieve and transplant the organs. This requires seamless coordination and rapid action.

“With every organ that is not transplanted in time, we lose the chance to save multiple lives, making it imperative for us to strengthen our organ retrieval and transplantation networks,” Dr. Aggarwal said.

“To bridge the gap between organ demand and supply, India must implement a comprehensive and centralised organ donation registry, revise laws, and launch extensive awareness campaigns to encourage more organ pledges and facilitate easier organ harvesting procedures,” Dr. Bhattacharya noted.