National Organ Donation Day: Remembering The Brave Who Saved Multiple Lives
This date commemorates the first successful deceased-donor heart transplant in India, which took place on August 3, 1994.
Published : August 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM IST
By Rahul Chauhan
New Delhi: National Organ Donation Day is observed across the country on Sunday. This date commemorates the first successful deceased-donor heart transplant in India, which took place on August 3, 1994.
On the 15th Organ Donation Day, the Centre is launching a year-long national campaign titled "Angdaan-Jeevan Sanjeevani Abhiyan," which aims to promote organ and tissue donation throughout the country. The campaign emphasises the need for increased public participation, dispelling myths and misconceptions, and motivating citizens to pledge for organ donation.
Organ donation is one of the most compassionate acts a person can perform, with the ability to save or transform many lives. However, in India, according to statistics, this life-saving potential remains tragically underutilised. Each year, thousands of people in our country die while waiting for an organ transplant due to a significant lack of awareness about organ donation.
The organ donation rate in India remains low at less than one per million population, even as the number of transplants has increased significantly, government data revealed on Saturday. “Although the number of transplants in India has significantly increased from 4990 in 2013 to 18378 in 2023, and 18911 transplants have been reported to NOTTO from January to December 2024, the organ donation rate remains low at less than one per million population," said the 2024-25 annual report released by the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation here.
"This starkly contrasts with the highest in the world, at around 48 per million population in Spain. India is the third highest in the world in terms of total organ transplantation and first in terms of total living donor organ transplantation,” the report said.
Despite the hard facts of statistics, some keep their memories alive even after returning to their abode by donating their organs. On this National Organ Donation Day, let us remember the selflessness of three individuals whose organ donations saved multiple lives.
Vipin Kumar, a boxing enthusiast, asked his dear ones to donate his organs in a note before he took his life. Reflecting on Vipin's memories, his elder brother, K K Gautam, said that his sibling had a spirit for social service since childhood. He donated blood four to five times a year.
In his death note, Vipin wrote," I am leaving this world. Please forgive me and donate my organs so that they can be of use to other people". As per his wish, his organs were donated at AIIMS, where his post-mortem was conducted.
"Vipin's organ donation gave a new life to seven to eight people. Most of his organs were useful due to his young age. I appeal to people that organ donation is a great donation. Everyone should follow it, " Gautam added.
Raju suffered serious injuries after falling from the roof in an accident. He was declared brain dead on March 8 this year at AIIMS Trauma Centre. His wife Aarti said, "The doctors explained to us that he is no longer among us, but his organs can give life to others." She donated her husband's heart, kidney and liver, which gave life to three people.
Living with her young daughter and in-laws, Aarti said," This act taught us that even after one's death, more people can be given a new life. There is some solace in the fact that even after my husband's death, he became the reason for giving a new life to three more people".
Gopal Singh, who was working at an engineering works shop here, was injured in an accident on May 27. He was declared brain dead on May 30. His family took a brave decision in the hour of grief and donated his organs, which gave a new life to four people.
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