In Odisha, Organ Donors To Get Funeral With Full State Honours
In a bid to encourage organ donations, the Odisha Government has announced that the funeral of organ donors would be performed with full state honours including wrapping the body in tricolour and giving a 21-gun salute.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said that the initiative aims at honouring the courage and sacrifice of the donors to save the lives of others.
Will encourage more organ donations
Honouring the organ donors will also create awareness in society about the importance of organ donation and motivate more people to come forward, Patnaik said.
Noting that organ donation is a noble gesture, Patnaik said the relatives of brain dead people, who take courageous decision on donating the organs, play an important role in saving many human lives.
Award for organ donors
The Odisha government has already set up the State Organ & Tissues Transplant Organization (SOTTO) in 2019. The government also instituted the Suraj Award for the organ donors in 2020, the chief minister said.
The state government instituted Suraj Award after a youth by the same name from Bhanjanagar of Ganjam district sustained critical injuries in a road accident and was declared brain dead by doctors during treatment following which his relatives decided to donate his organs. Their decision helped save the lives of six persons.
This apart, the government has been providing Rs 5 lakh from Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the family of organ donors.
The chief minister also honours the next of kin of organ donors on World Organ Donation Day on August 13 every year.
Organ donation in India
Organs including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, intestines and pancreas can be donated and can be the difference between life and death for a patient in need of a transplant.
Despite this in most cases, the kin of the brain-dead patients are unwilling to donate the organs.
Over the years, several attempts have been made in India to encourage organ donations, which are still voluntary.
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