Steel City women doctors pledge to donate organs

JAMSHEDPUR: Around 120 women doctors of Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas on Wednesday pledged to donate their organs on the occasion of Doctors’ Day. Most of the doctors who took the pledge are members of Jamshedpur Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society (Jogs).
The initiative was a part of the nationwide campaign launched by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan to make people aware about the need to donate organs.
A member of Jogs, Dr Vinita Sahay said, “Every year around 5 lakh people die in India due to lack of donors. According to date, every year 1.5 lakh patients require kidney donors for transplants of which only 5,000 are lucky to get one. Similarly 50,000 die of heart ailments and 2 lakh liver patients’ lives could be saved every year only people would have come forward to donate organs.”
She added, “Around 10 lakh suffer from corneal blindness in the country every year and their vision can be restored by donors. One donor can save eight lives and heal 75 through tissue donation.”
Sahay also urged the kin of brain dead patients to come forward and help those who need organs. “According to the data, every year around 20,000 people die of road accidents in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar. In most of the cases, the victims are brain dead. Their organs could have been easily used to save other lives, but nothing could be done as their kin did not agree to donate them.”
Jogs, which is a part of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (Fogsi), has around 38,000 members across the country.