Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh govt is preparing a special action plan to ensure that organ transplant procedures are increasingly performed at government teaching hospitals, making treatment more accessible to the poor, said state health minister Satyakumar Yadav. He announced that 12 government hospitals across the state would be developed in phases into full-fledged organ transplant centres.
The minister was speaking at the state-level organ donation awareness programme organised by Jeevandan in Visakhapatnam on Sunday to mark National Organ Donation Day. He said the objective was to ensure that patients who wait for life-saving organs receive permanent treatment through the public healthcare system as far as possible.
Addressing the gathering, ace badminton player P V Sindhu said the families of organ donors, who bring hope into the lives of others through organ donation, are the real champions. “I have played many tough matches and fought until the very last point to win. But those were only sporting contests. The real battle for life is fought every day in hospitals and intensive care units. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people. Organ donation is not about death; it is the highest tribute to life,” Sindhu said.
Family members of organ donors shared their emotional experiences. Several families said that while the loss of their loved ones was irreplaceable, the knowledge that their donated organs had given others a second chance at life brought them some solace in their grief. The health minister felicitated the families in recognition of their selfless contribution to saving lives.
