Encouraging Organ Donation

Donating organs is one of the highest forms of philanthropy. Giving part of yourself to live on, after you pass away is a gift of a lifetime. TANKER encourages deceased-donor organ donation that can be a boon for not just kidney patients but also for others suffering from life threatening ailments. Deceased-donor organ donation is not very popular in our country and hence the recipient waiting lists are long.

Deceased-donor organ donation consists of removing viable organs from brain dead donors and then transplanting them into a living patient who needs it. Soon after a patient is declared brain dead (The patient is dead but the heart maintains circulation usually with mechanical ventilation support), the organs are harvested. The harvested organs are then kept cold to delay the natural decaying process. These are then transplanted to the needy patient.

TANKER under the Deceased-Donor Transplantation Programme, sponsored a meeting of surgeons and physicians in October, 2005. Their recommendation to the Health Secretary resulted in the expansion of the panel of specialists who certify brain-stem death.

The TANKER Trustee Doctors were part of the team that performed the first government approved multi organ deceased-donor transplant in December 1995.

TANKER also supports MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation in creating awareness about deceased-donor organ donation.

Kidney transplantation is a life-extending procedure. A typical patient will live ten to fifteen years longer with a kidney transplant than if kept on dialysis. The years of life gained is greater for younger patients.
(Courtesy wikipedia.org)