On the occasion of World Organ Donation Day on 13th of August, SPARSH Hospital organised a 5K walkathon to build awareness and sensitise the public about the need for organ donation. The event was flagged off at SPARSH Hospital in RR Nagar. Over 500 people participated in the walkathon, pledging their support to the cause.

Munirathna, Minister for Horticulture, Government of Karnataka, participated in the event.

An estimated 5,00,00 lakh Indians die each year waiting for organ transplants. A report by NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation) suggests that only 1500 of the 30,000 patients requiring liver transplants annually benefit from this life saving procedure. Similarly, the discrepancy is considerably worse for heart and lung transplants. The deceased organ donation rate in India is at less than 1 percent per million populations and translates to less than one person per million opting to donate their organs. In spite of being one of the most populated and fastest developing countries, India has a poor deceased organ donation rate at <1 per million populations. Superstitions and stigma, lack of transplant coordinators, and lack of required infrastructure for certifying and maintaining brain-dead patient registry are the reasons behind the low donation numbers in India.

The walkathon by SPARSH is an effort towards addressing the myths around organ donation, motivating more people to come forward for organ donation and emphasising the positive impact that organ transplant can have on the lives of patients and their families.

As a token of appreciation and gratitude, SPARSH Hospital handed over donor privilege cards to the families of all the donors from across Karnataka. The donor privilege card has a lifetime validity and offers an array of benefits that can be accessed across all units of SPARSH Hospitals in Karnataka.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr Sharan Shivaraj Patil, Chairman, SPARSH Group of Hospitals, said, “Organ donation has the power to change lives. One person’s decision to donate their organs has the incredible potential to make a difference to many. Currently, there is a huge gap between the number of organs required and the organs available. There is an urgent need to build awareness about organ donation and encourage people to come forward as donors.  Furthermore, in order for transplants to take place when harvested organs become suddenly available, we must also encourage individuals with end-stage organ failure to sign up as recipients.”

“At SPARSH, we are committed to the cause of organ donation and we believe that it’s important to bridge the information gap that currently exists. Our charitable arm, ‘SPARSH Foundation’, will also support this transplant program for individuals from humble backgrounds and with complex medical conditions. Through this event, we want to address the myths and stigma associated with organ donation. We are overwhelmed by the enormous support that we have got today. It is encouraging to see so many people stepping up to support organ donation”, Dr Sharan added.