World Organ Donation Day is celebrated every year on August 13 to highlight the important role organ donation plays in saving lives. This historic day, which falls on Tuesday in 2024, seeks to draw attention to the urgent need for more organ donors worldwide. The day promotes organ donation as a life-saving option for people, encouraging them to help patients suffering from chronic diseases by donating their kidneys, heart, pancreas, eyes and lungs. “Be the reason for someone’s smile today!” is this year’s campaign slogan, which aims to encourage people to think about becoming an organ donor and improving the lives of others.
National Organ Donation Day 2024: Significance
World Organ Donation Day promotes a culture of donation and saving lives in addition to raising awareness. The day is essential to spread awareness about the critical need for organ donors and the potential of organ donation to save lives. Despite its importance, a lot of misconceptions prevent people from donating organs. By promoting educated decision-making and providing the right information, World Organ Donation Day seeks to dispel these myths. Donating organs to a person in need after death is a legally recognized process that often helps a close relative. The 2024 observance is necessary to draw attention to this problem and inspire more individuals to think about donating their organs.
National Organ Donation Day 2024: History
On December 23, 1954, Ronald Lee Herrick became the first organ donor when he gave a kidney to his twin brother Richard in a transplant performed by Dr. Joseph Murray, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1990 for his contributions to the field of organ transplantation. To encourage organ donation and dispel misconceptions, WHO and ISOD launched World Organ Donation Day in the early 2000s. Over time it has become more prominent around the world, and the 2024 observance will continue to highlight the need for more donations. First observed on November 27, 2010, National Organ Day was moved to August 3, 2023 by NOTTO to commemorate the first successful deceased-donor heart transplant in India.
National Organ Donation Day 2024: Government Schemes
- Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994 – This law was amended in 2011 to allow organ replacement and increase the number of donors for organ donation in India.
- National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) – It is the apex body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare responsible for procurement, distribution and maintenance of national registry of organs and tissues.
- National Organ Transplant Programme – This programme focuses on training staff and encouraging deceased organ donation.
- One National Organ Donation Policy – It aims to uniformly regulate and promote voluntary organ donation across India.
