How Tamil Nadu invested in sustained awareness and building trust to shape its organ donation programme

Tamil Nadu has made significant progress in its organ donation programme over the past 17 years. Starting with only seven deceased donor organ donations in its first year, the state has now achieved 266 organ donations in a single year. This growth can be attributed to sustained awareness efforts, measures to build confidence, and improvements in the state's transplant infrastructure and systems.

In 2024, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of deceased organ donors at 268, with a total of 1,476 organs utilized in the same year - 856 major organs and 620 minor organs and tissues. These figures were reported by the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu.

In 2008, the Cadaver Transplant Programme (CTP) was launched, with the first donation coming from the parents of a 15-year-old boy who had sustained severe injuries in a road accident and was declared brain dead. J. Amalorpavanathan, founder-member secretary of the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu, noted that initially, there was reluctance among doctors, but they found receptiveness among the general public.

Over time, they were able to convince healthcare professionals to certify brain death, leading to a gradual increase in organ donations.

Sunil Shroff, managing trustee of MOHAN Foundation, observed a significant improvement in awareness levels over the years. He stated that families in States like Tamil Nadu and Telangana, where awareness is relatively high, are more likely to come forward for organ donation. In Tamil Nadu, about 72% of deceased organ donations occur in five States - Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka.

Creating awareness about organ donation is approached in two ways in Tamil Nadu. One method involves organizing awareness campaigns, sessions, and encouraging families to take pledges. The other approach includes news about successful donations, honor walks for donors, and giving due recognition to donors. Since October 2023, when the former DMK government issued an order to accord state honors to the mortal remains of deceased donors, more than 800 such honors have been granted. Such news has been found to be more effective in creating awareness compared to other methods.

However, there is still a need to address the high number of road traffic accidents resulting in brain deaths. Experts suggest exploring Donation after Circulatory Death (DCD), a practice already followed in North America, which could potentially increase the pool of donor hearts and reduce the long waiting list for transplants.

Additionally, establishing green corridors in hospitals for seamless integration of organ donation processes and appointing nodal officers in every hospital could further improve the efficiency of the transplantation system.