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Organ donation simply means, retrieving a donor’s organ like heart, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs and pancreas, after the donor is deceased, and then transplanting into another person who is in need of an organ.
World Organ Day provides an opportunity to all to come ahead and pledge to donate their precious organs because one organ donor can save up to eight lives.
According to a report by The Print, only 0.65 donations per million population take place in India, compared to 35 in Spain and 26 in the US.
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Can you be an organ donor?
There is no restriction with regard to organ donation. Everyone should consider themselves as possible organ and tissue donors-irrespective of age, health, and race. No one is too old or too young to be a deceased donor. There have been instances where newborns and even senior citizens into their 90s have been potential organ donors.
Even people with an illness would be able to donate organs or tissues upon death, where the doctors would examine the organs and determine whether they are suitable for donation. Conditions like active cancer or systemic infection will totally inhibit a person from becoming a donor.
The medical condition of the person at the time of death can determine what organs and tissues can be donated and what not.
The approximate amount of time between recovering the tissues/organs and transplanting them is:
- Lung – 4 to 6 hours
- Heart – 4 hours
- Liver – 24 hours
- Pancreas – 24 hours
- Kidney – 72 hours
- Cornea – 14 days
- Bones – 5 years
- Skin – 5 year
- Heart Valves – 10 years