SERVICE LEARNING

Day 1 – Research

Organ Donation
Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and
transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the
assent of the next of kin.

Donation may be for research or, more commonly, healthy transplantable organs and tissues may be
donated to be transplanted into another person.

Transplants
Common transplantations include kidneys, heart, liver, pancreas, intestines, lungs, bones, bone marrow,
skin, and corneas. Some organs and tissues can be donated by living donors, such as a kidney or part of
the liver, part of the pancreas, part of the lungs or part of the intestines, but most donations occur after
the patient dies.

To increase the number of organ donors, especially among underrepresented populations,

current approaches include the use of optimized social network interventions, exposing
tailored educational content about organ donation to target social media users.

NGO – I GIFT LIFE

About I GIFT LIFE
I GIFT LIFE is an NGO that saw a gap in awareness related to the topic of Organ Donation and
since 2016 have started with their cause as a “social change”, for changing the mindset is the
first step to victory. Change in mindset comes when there is a conducive eco-system to talk
about the subject. They emphasize that Organ donation can be spoken about without talking
about death.

Their History
The Co-Founders Mr. Tejpal Singh Batra and Ms. Naina Batra have had this passion to make this
NGO a social movement since 2016.
They work as a Non-Profit Organization and have more than 10 members who work as
volunteers for this.

Their Work

I Gift Life worked on Outreach Programs to spread awareness about Organ Donation
1. Village Outreach Program
I Gift Life reached out to hundreds of villagers staying in 3 different villages in Pune district,
the Village outreach programs include a dedicated team of volunteers, interesting
discussions, role play, and sessions.

2. Youth and Doctor Outreach Programs

I Gift Life spread awareness on Organ Donation, by putting posters at doctors’ clinics. They
started with 100 posters in different clinics in Yerwada and surrounding areas.

Organ Donation Statistics

ONE ORGAN DONOR CAN DONATE 25 ORGANS
One organ donor can up donate up to twenty five different organs and tissues for
transplantation. This can save up to eight lives.

Organs that can be donated include kidneys, liver, pancreas, lungs and heart, while tissue
constitutes eyes, skin, bone, bone marrow, nerves, brain, heart valves, eardrum, ear bones
and blood.

Why Donate?
Of the 1.5 lakh people who need kidney in India only 3000 people receive them. Only 1 out
of 30 people receive kidney. 90% of people in the waiting list die without getting any donor.
70% liver transplants are dependent on a live donor but 30% dependent on cadaver
(corpse) donations.
Organ Donation in India
While 36 persons per million of population donated organs in Spain in 2014, 35 donated in
Croatia, 27.02 donated in the United States, and only 0.34 donated in India.
Severe lack of organs and poverty are the reasons why illegal organ trading is thriving.
Organ donation should not be an example of unethical commerce; we must restore its
value.

However, Organ Donation takes places over a written set of guidelines and rules made
by a law enforcing power. Several laws come into play when a certain patient signs up
for organ donation such as

• The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994

• Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011
• Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules (THOT), 2014

Scenario 1 - What Organs Can be Donated When Alive

1. Part of a Liver
A liver transplant is a surgical procedure to remove a diseased liver and replace it with a
healthy liver from a donor. Most liver transplant operations use livers from deceased
donors. In some cases, a part of a liver may be donated by a living donor.
A liver transplant is an option for people who have end-stage liver failure that cannot be
controlled using other treatments, or for some people with specific types of liver cancer.
Living donation is possible because the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself. An
adult may be able to donate a portion of their liver to a child or another adult. The
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) notes that adult-to-child living-donor liver
transplants have helped diminish waiting list deaths, giving a second chance at life to
children in need of transplant.
A living donor’s liver fully regrows within 4 months and will ultimately regain full function.
The donated portion does the same for the recipient. A liver from a deceased donor may
also be split and transplanted into 2 recipients.
 2. One Kidney
A living-donor kidney transplant is when a kidney from a living donor is removed and placed
into a recipient whose kidneys no longer function properly.
Only one donated kidney is needed to replace two failed kidneys, which makes living-donor
kidney transplant an alternative to deceased-donor kidney transplant.
Why is it done?
Compared with deceased-donor kidney transplant, the benefits of living-donor kidney
transplant include:

• Less time spent on a waiting list, which could prevent possible complications and
deterioration of health of the recipient
• Potential avoidance of dialysis if it has not been initiated
• Better short- and long-term survival rates
• Your transplant may be scheduled in advance once your donor is approved versus an
unscheduled, emergency transplant procedure with a deceased donor kidney.

3. Bone Marrow
Bone marrow donation is a surgical procedure that takes place in a hospital operating room.
Doctors use needles to withdraw liquid marrow (where the body’s blood-forming cells are
made) from both sides of the back of your pelvic bone. You will be given anesthesia and feel
no pain during the donation. After donation, your liquid marrow is transported to the
patient’s location for transplant.
Common side effects of marrow donation reported 2 days after donation: Back or hip pain 84%,
Fatigue 61%, Throat pain 32%, Muscle pain 24%, Insomnia 15%, Headache 14%, Dizziness 10%,
Loss of appetite 10%, Nausea 9%.
The median time to full recovery for a marrow donation is 20 days.
Scenario 2 - What can be donated when one dies due to Heart Failure

1. Cornea
A corneal transplant is a surgical procedure that replaces part of a person’s cornea with
corneal tissue from a donor. Cornea donation is necessary for the preservation and
restoration of sight — one cornea donor can restore sight to 2 people.
Everyone is a universal donor for corneal tissue — the donor’s blood type does not have to
match the blood type of the recipient. Age, eye color and eyesight are not factors either.
Aside from those suffering from infections or a few highly communicable diseases, most
people are potential cornea donors.

2. Bones
In the case of a deceased person, a check is always made on whether the decision to donate
has been recorded in the Donor Register. If consent was given for post-mortem tissue donation,
a specialized explanation team will remove the bone and tendon tissue in an operating theatre
within 24 hours.
HOW IS DONOR BONE USED?
A surgeon uses donated bone tissue in bone defect cases:

• for hip operations that sometimes require extra bone

• for the repair of bone fractures
• for bone tumors where diseased or damaged bone is replaced by healthy donated bone
• for operative correction and stabilization of the vertebral column
• for placing a jaw implant
Scenario 3 – What can be donated when one dies due to brain death

A lot of the organs become viable for donation once the donor dies due to brain death.
Organs like the

• Cornea
• Lungs
• Liver
• Heart
• Pancreas
• Skin
• Bones
• Kidneys
The donor is kept on life support with his heart still beating until all the organs have
been surgically removed.