Kolkata, 13 August, 2025 :
Suraksha Diagnostic Limited, popularly known as Suraksha Clinic and Diagnostics, observed World Organ Donation Day today with the aim of raising awareness about the life-saving potential of organ donation and dispelling prevalent myths. This year’s theme was “Be the reason for someone’s smile.”
The event was attended by eminent nephrologists, including Dr. Debabrata Sen, Former Professor and HOD, Department of Nephrology, IPGMER/SSKM Hospital, and Dr. Pratik Das, MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DNB (Nephrology), Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata. Both speakers delivered keynote addresses highlighting the critical role of organ donation in saving lives.
Observed annually on August 13, World Organ Donation Day honors donors and their families while encouraging more people to register as donors. Experts at the event stressed that organ donation, regulated under India’s Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, is a strictly non-commercial activity and includes provisions for recognizing brain death.
India ranks third globally in overall organ transplants and second in corneal transplants, with over 1,000 deceased organ donations recorded in 2023. Each year, the country conducts 17,000–18,000 solid organ transplants, with kidneys being the most commonly transplanted organ. However, rising chronic disease cases continue to make availability and accessibility a challenge.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the average number of organs transplanted per donor in India rose from 2.43 in 2016 to 3.05 in 2022, though most surgeries are performed in the private sector, making them unaffordable for many. Data also reveals that 13 patients die daily while awaiting transplants, and in 2024, over 48,000 transplants were carried out nationwide.
A BMJ report further highlighted a gender disparity in organ donation: between 2019 and 2023, 63.8% of living donors were women, yet men received the majority of transplants. Out of 56,509 living organ donations during this period, 39,447 went to male recipients 2.3 times more than female recipients.
The event concluded with a call for greater public participation in organ donation, early detection of chronic diseases, and more equitable access to life-saving transplants.
