Imphal: A bicycle rally promoting organ donation, under the theme “Donate organs, save lives,” along with a free health camp, was organised at Kakching Public School, Kakching Wairi, in Manipur’s Kakching district on Sunday.
Director of the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal, Prof. G. Sunilkumar Sharma, flagged off the rally from his office gate in Imphal. The programme was organised by RIMS, Imphal, in association with the Rotary Club of Imphal and the Manipur Adventure and Mountain Biking Association.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the programme, Prof. Sharma said the initiative aimed to dispel myths, encourage people to pledge organ donation, and educate the public about the life-saving potential of organ donation after brain or cardiac death. He said India records about 19,000 organ donations annually against a demand of nearly five lakh.
He explained that organ donation broadly falls into two categories: living donation, where a healthy person donates an organ or a part of an organ—such as a kidney or a liver lobe—while alive; and deceased donation, where organs are retrieved from individuals declared brain-dead or after circulatory death. Deceased donors can provide multiple organs, including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and intestines, as well as tissues such as corneas, skin, and bones. Living donations may be directed to a known recipient or non-directed, while deceased donations are classified based on the type of death.
He further noted that Manipur was awarded best-performing state among the Northeastern states in organ donation and transplantation during the 15th Indian Organ Donation Day, observed under the aegis of the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in New Delhi last August.