We may register our name as a donor with medical colleges having such transplantation facilities
Anwesha Dey
Medical Science has advanced a lot due to experimental research, invention, discovery and practice. A stage has arrived in human civilization when we can donate organs of our body to improve the condition of the lives of others who need these. Well-informed people know that some organs like eye, liver, bone marrow, kidney and even heart can be transplanted from one human body to another under certain situations and favourable parameters. Most probably, blood transfusion marked the first success in the transfer of body ingredient in health science. In recent covid-19 pandemic situation transfer of plasma, the fluid part of blood, from covid-survivors to covid-affected patients was proved to be very much useful in the treatment of suffering people.
Organ donation is not only a novel work but it is a way through which one can give a new life to people who don’t have the life like normal healthy ones. But the conditions and methods of organ donation are different from money and material donations. These are guided by feasibility, bio-medical situations and ethical considerations. We can’t just donate our organ to those who need it. Body cells of both the donor and the receiver must match biologically and the concerned medical specialists must work in well-equipped hospitals where testing, transferring and healing facilities are perfect. Transplantation of human body organs needs much caution and expert handling. The tusk is time bound. For example, if a person dies of a road accident his heart should be transplanted to a heart patient within minutes; his kidney is to be transferred as quickly as possible. In case of eye and bone marrow, the collection is to be made within half-an-hour or so and should be preserved with chemicals in eye-banks and bone marrow banks without contamination.
There is a blood donation movement in our country. Many voluntary organisations arrange awareness programs and convince people to donate blood to blood banks. We have many medical colleges in NE Region, but organ banks could not be built in those institutions. Heart transplantation facility in India exists in a few metro cities. But our country is populous and we need such facilities in all medical colleges. Absence of good training opportunity to train our medical experts is a big constraint. But we can overcome all problems if we, all, work genuinely and sincerely in these process ….
The ethical side is this:- an individual donor must agree to donate his body organs to any needy patient or to his/her near or dear ones before or after death and the donation should be made willingly in writing while he/she is alive, mentally sound and not under any physical or psychological pressure. A medical specialist can’t just lift an organ from a dead-body and transplant it to another body. One can’t sell his kidney, although individuals have two kidneys and one is sufficient to lead a life, to another to earn money. Such act is illegal and unethical. But unfortunately, we read from the newspaper that kidney trafficking takes place through profit-making anti-socials and unscrupulous doctors in countries including India. There are strict legal provisions to punish such wrong-doers.
Donation of organs is a noble and humanitarian job. If you are a healthy and fit person, then what is the problem in donating your organs after your death? The person who donates organ is a life-giver in a sense. To become a life-giver, it means a lot to everyone. We may register our name as a donor with medical colleges having such transplantation facilities. Even if there is no taker of organs our dead body can be preserved and used for the teaching of anatomy and physiology to medical students. So, let us build awareness.
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