Green Heart-Driver's License - soon to be a reality!

With less than one-in-a-million organ donors in India and with over 3 million deaths since 2005 due to non-availability of organs, there is a great need to educate the citizens of our country about organ donation. While there are numerous channels that needs to be explored to help spread the word around, none of them would be successful without the support of State and Central government.

We, at Gift Your Organ Foundation, have been working continuously to open doors in the government sectors so they realize the importance of building mass channels for creating awareness in India. In a path breaking decision, finally taken by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka and the Department of Transport, Government of Karnataka, Gift Your Organ Foundation in support with ZCCK will now introduce the organ donation option when an individual applies for a new / renew driver's license in Karnataka. Those opting to become an organ donor will receive a "Green Heart-Driver’s License" card.

Every month approximately 1.15 lakh Driver’s License cards are being issued in Karnataka alone hence this platform is great way to reach out to the public at large to educate them about organ donation. The transport department plans to initiate the project at the Electronic City RTO, which will be treated as a pilot, for a period of two months. After gauging the response for the pilot, the project will be extended to all RTOs in the city and then the entire state.

Associated impact of this initiative*

From 2008 till the 31^st of January 2012, Zonal Co-ordination Committee in Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK), which is a government body overlooking the organ transplantation process in the State has received a total of 1072 pledges. In January 2012 alone, there were 1,13,952 driver’s license applicants either applying for fresh licenses or for renewals. Even if 50% of these choose to pledge their organs, the number of pledges in one month will be 55 times that of the number of pledges received by ZCCK over the last 4 years! There is no doubt that this will dramatically change the number of deceased organ donors in Karnataka. Currently the numbers are dismal (3 in 2007; 2 in 2008; 11 in 2009; 8 in 2010 and 6 in 2011). 

The success of this initiative will help us build a scalable model that will then be replicated across RTOs and then across cities.

The entire team at Gift Your Organ Foundation is obliged with the support that has been extended to us by the ZCCK and the confidence that the Karnataka Ministry has shown on us in helping change the face of organ donation in Karnataka. We are committed to this effort and will bring in a revolution that will help save lives.

Are you with us? Do voice your views here, we are listening!

*All data is based on publicly available data across various internet sites and is only an indication.

Pledge your organs: Bring in the good karma!

I have met various people in the ‘Gift Your Organ’ organ donation drives who have shared some various very interesting thoughts about organ donation. I distinctly remember this young, beautiful lady in our very first event came and pledged her organs. At the time when she pledging her organs, I was busy in another interaction, a little away from our desk. This lady chose to wait to see me till I returned back to the Gift Your Organ desk.

‘Sameer’, with tears in her eyes, she said to me ‘I am grateful to you for giving me this opportunity of pledging my organs. I feel for the first time I have done some real good for someone else. Thank you very much’. I was touched by the emotions of this lady. It is amazing how this simple act of only signing a form occurs to various people.

In another event, a mother not only pledged her organs, she also pledged organs of her 4 and 7 year old kids. She was very clear that while she prays for the entire family’s long life, in the most unlikely event, if something were to go wrong, the family will donate their organs.

On the other hand, there have been various skeptics as well. In an engagement function, I met a young journalist, very knowledgeable about the happenings in today’s world. After she found out about what I do and the Gift Your Organ Foundation, she asked me, ‘Why are you interfering with some one’s Karma?’. She went on to add, ‘If someone has an organ that needs replacement, that is their Karma – how can you change that?’. Initially, I was a little taken aback by her very straight-faced remark. In few short moments, I gathered myself and I asked her, ‘Why are you bothered about some else’s Karma. Why don’t we talk about yours instead? By pledging and then donating your organs, clearly you will do good Karma. Why don’t you add on the good Karma in your life?’ Her face revealed that she thought this was a good way of looking at it, but she said she wanted to think about it and then take a decision. I was perfectly fine with it.

We at Gift Your Organ come across all kinds of excuses for people not wanting to pledge their organs. It is a simple thing, if you aren’t comfortable with pledging your organs, would you be comfortable with receiving someone else’s organs if in the worst case scenario you need one? We believe it is a question each and every one of us must ask ourselves and then decide whether or not we should pledge our organs. Infact we have tried to address a few of the objections that people have for pledging organs in one other blog post of ours - Life after death: The mystery behind this

Remember, there are more chances that you will need an organ than you will eventually donate yours.

If you want to pledge your organs, please log on to www.giftyourorgan.org . If you need any clarification, or want to organize an organ donation event in your organization, club, society, etc please contact us by writing to us at celebrate@giftyourorgan.org

Written by,

Sameer Dua

Founder & Chief Evangelist

Gift Your Organ Foundation