Govt officials to attend funerals of organ donors

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has directed health department officials to attend funerals of organ donors to boost cadaver donations in the state. This move aims to provide support to the families of organ donors and increase awareness about cadaver donations, including among the police. The government's decision also aims to streamline administrative processes and provide comfort to grieving relatives during the mourning period. Maharashtra saw 149 cadaver organ donations in 2023, with Pune recording the highest number in a single city.

Mumbai: In a bid to boost cadaver donations in the state, chief minister Eknath Shinde has directed officials from the health department to attend funerals of all organ donors. A directive to this effect was issued last week. Experts praised the move, saying it would not only provide support to the families of organ donors during their mourning period, but also boost awareness about cadaver donations, including among the police.

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Shinde, while appreciating the efforts of the Directorate of Health Service (DHS) in making Maharashtra a leading state in organ donation, directed the health department to develop a plan ensuring consistent presence of a departmental representative during cremation ceremonies.

“He told us that despite the state doing well in organ donation, there is a need to increase organ donation as the waiting list of patients with organ failure is long. We are figuring out a way wherein the local health authority will meet the organ donor’s family during cremation and pay homage on behalf of the government,” said an official.

Maharashtra saw 149 cadaver organ donations in 2023, among which 58 were from Pune – the highest number recorded in a single city in a year across the state. Mumbai and Nagpur occupied the second and third spot in terms of organ donations, with 50 and 35 cases, respectively. A single cadaver donor can rescue eight patients suffering from organ failure – two patients can benefit from two kidneys; the liver can be divided to benefit two others; the lungs can benefit two patients, while the pancreas and the heart donation can save one life each.

The state government’s decision aims to streamline administrative processes around cadaver donations, such as obtaining police permissions. It also aims to provide comfort to grieving relatives during the mourning period.

Dr Bharat Shah, general secretary of the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), which oversees the organ donation programme in Maharashtra, praised the move, saying, “Anything done at the government level has greater impact. While we are continuing to work and spread awareness on organ donation among the police, there are times when we too face problems.” Health department representatives attending funerals of organ donors would help spread awareness among all stakeholders including the police, he added.

Dr Shrirang Bicchu, senior nephrologist and kidney transplant physician at Bombay Hospital, echoed Shah. “This is the first instance in India wherein government representatives will be attending funerals of organ donors. It is an honour given by the government to the deceased donor and their family, recognising their noble decision to donate the organs and save lives,”,” said Bicchu.

Presence of government representatives would provide much-needed comfort to the grieving families of donors as well as ensure indirectly that the process of organ retrieval was smooth, he added.