Meet Pratik Mohapatra, Who Built A Life-Saving App That Connects Organ Donors With Recipients

According to a survey done by the government of India, 500,000 people in the country die because of non-availability of organs. Over 150,000 people await a kidney transplant but only 5,000 are lucky enough to get one.

Finding the right organ donor when in need can get really difficult.

Even the process of getting an organ from a donor is a cumbersome one. However, what if there was an app which could streamline the process by making you interact with the donor directly?

Microsoft

Bengaluru-based student, Pratik Mohapatra has created an app that can do just that. His app OrganSecure allows people to register as donors, which is then shared with potential organ recipients.

The app informs its donors about all the laws in the nation pertaining to organ donation. Once the user agrees to proceed, their health-related information like blood-group, antigen type etc are exchanged. Once done, the AI in the application works to find a compatible match for the organ.

Microsoft

Pratik bagged the third position for this app in Microsoft's AI for Good Idea Challenge this year. He mentions that the inspiration for the app came after watching the popular TV series 'Breathe' where the struggle of the protagonist in the movie to find an organ donor for his child really moved him. He realised after speaking with other doctors the plight of organ recipients and the severity of finding organs in the country.

The app isn't live on Google Play Store yet, as Pratik is still working on establishing a network and test the accuracy of the AI. Only when the accuracy delivers positive results, he would make the app live.

The app is first planned to launch in Karnataka, followed by the rest of the nation. Pratik also wishes to tap into international markets by helping donors connect to the recipients in nations like the United States, Canada, China, and South Korea.