The donation of an organ or a part of an organ is done at the time of the donor’s death. To become an organ donor, the blood and oxygen must flow through the organs until the time of recovery to ensure viability and requires that a person dies under circumstances that have resulted in a fatal brain injury. The donation is possible only after all efforts to save the patient’s life have been carried out and tested to confirm the absence of brain or brainstem activity, and brain death has been declared.

• According to Life Source, one organ, eye, and tissue donor can save and heal more than 75 lives. Signup now to become an organ donor and save lives.

• You are never too old to save lives. According to the data by Health Resources and Service Administration, (USA Government), one of the oldest organ donors in the United States, was 92, who saved the life of a 69-year-old woman. Signing up to become a donor is a valuable step, you can donate or not after you die will be decided by the doctors depending on your medical condition.

• Organ donation, both by deceased and living donors, globally, exceeded 153 thousand in the year 2019 as per the report by Statistica (2020). World Organ Donation Day is thus, celebrated on August 13.

• Sepsis occurs when the body overreacts to an infection, setting off a chain of events that leads to tissue damage and organ failure. According to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (2017), sepsis causes 20% of global deaths. By donating organs, you might be saving people dying from Sepsis.

• As per the data of WHO (2019), kidney diseases and lung cancers fall under the top 10 global causes of death and road injury and chronic pulmonary diseases fall under the top 10 causes of disability-adjusted life years. Contribute to helping people with organ failure like these, by becoming a donor and advocating for the cause of organ donation.

• In Nepal, the first successful deceased donor organ transplantation was done on May 12, 2016. The Human Organ Transplant Centre in Bhaktapur had successfully transplanted two deceased donor kidneys into two men and both had an excellent outcome. (Bhandari, 2021)

• As per a report by traffic police in Nepal, thousands of road accidents kill hundreds of people every year. Many of such victims can be potential brain death organ donors. But, till now, only four brain death organ donations have been done in Nepal, with the first in 2017.

• There is no official data on the number of kidney and liver failures in Nepal but it has been estimated that there are 3,000 kidney failure patients and 1,500 liver failure patients. The numbers increase every year. Most of them die without proper medical care and transplant. So far, only 13 live donor liver transplants have been done with the first case in 2016.

• It is believed that religion prohibits organ donation, but don't all religions advocate for saving lives?

• It is a myth that organ donors have to be family members, with various criteria used to match the donor to the patient including blood type, the donor need not be necessarily a family member.

• You might think hospitals and doctors won't try hard to save a registered organ donor's life. But according to Nepal Medical Council, the Hippocratic Oath by the doctors binds them to care in case of saving a life.

• Brain death is often confused with coma or persistent vegetative state and believe brain dead people can survive. It is a myth. There is no possibility of recovery from brain death. Someone who is declared brain dead is clinically and legally dead.

• Human Body Organ Transplantation Web: https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/human-body-organ-transplantation-regulation-and-prohibition-act-2055-1998.pdf

• Deceased organ donation and transplantation in India: Promises and challenges (Srivastava and Mani, 2018) Web: https://www.neurologyindia.com/text.asp?2018/66/2/316/227259

• Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) Web: https://www.organdonor.gov/learn/process/donation-after-life

• History of deceased organ donation, transplantation, and organ procurement organizations (Howard, Cornell, and Cochran, 2012) Web: https://doi.org/10.7182/pit2012157

• National Kidney Foundation Web: https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/organ_donor_prog

• Facts and Myths About Organ Donation (American Transplant Foundation) Web: https://www.americantransplantfoundation.org/about-transplant/facts-and-myths/

• Mohan Foundation (India) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization started to promote organ donation in 1997 in Chennai by philanthropists and medical professionals led by Dr. Sunil Shroff. It is a registered NGO with Income Tax exemption under Section 80G and 35AC and has offices in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Jaipur, Mumbai and USA. MOHAN Foundation was started by a group of like-minded and concerned medical and non-medical professionals committed to increasing the reach of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act. The Government of India passed this act in 1994 to broaden the concept of organ donation and stop commercial dealings in organs, especially kidneys. It is now possible to not only donate one’s eyes, but also other vital organs like the heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys. Web: https://www.mohanfoundation.org/

• Donate Life America (United States) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization leading its national partners and Donate Life State Teams to increase the number of donated organs, eyes and tissues available to save and heal lives through transplantation while developing a culture where donation is embraced as a fundamental human responsibility. Web: https://www.donatelife.net/