Introduction – World Organ Donation Day is celebrated on August 13 every year to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation among common people all around the world. This day aims to motivate people for donating their healthy organs after death to save more lives. There are several donating organs such as the heart, eyes, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, and many more to save the lives of those people who are suffering from chronic illness. Several people died due to the unavailability of healthy organs, which could save their lives. The main purpose of this day is to help patients by donating their organs after death that saves several lives.

First organ donation – In the year 1954, the first organ donation transplant was done in the United States. Doctor Joseph Murray won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in the year 1990 for successful kidney transplants between twin brothers Richard and Ronald Herrick.

Different forms of organ donation – There are two different methods of organ donation. Firstly, the live donations are done with donors who are alive and may donate organs such as kidney and a part of the liver. People can live with one kidney and the liver is only organ of the body, which regenerates itself in the body. Both kidney and liver are transplanted while the donor is still alive. Secondly, organ donation is called cadaver donation. In this process, healthy organs are transplanted to a living individual after the donor has died.

Who cannot donate organs – There are few specific conditions that people cannot able to donate their organs.  After death, people are unable to donate their organs if they are suffering from diseases including cancers and HIV, which are spreading with some other infections. Secondly. if people are suffering from kidney or heart disease, cancer, HIV, diabetes, and many more then they can unable to donate their organs in live organ donations.

But due to Covid-19, it affects organ transplantation as the ICUs were filled with coronavirus patients thus, the rate of donated organs is reduced.

Note – It is important to note that India has its own organ donation day, which is observed on November 26 annually that encourages common people to donate their organs and save several lives.