Arish Mujawar, Pune
In a remarkable act of generosity, a 90-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh has pledged to donate his organs along with all 36 members of his family. Bahadur Singh, who lives in Meerut, said that he and his family decided to donate their organs to help the needy and save lives.
“I am Bahadur Singh, my age is 90 years, I am announcing to donate all my organs with 36 members of my family. I am taking this step with the consent of everyone, there is no fraud happening with me. My organs will be useful for other people, what can be better than this. There are 36 people in my family, everyone has announced to donate organs,” he said while taking the vow.
The video of Bahadur Singh and his family taking the pledge was shared by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Twitter. He praised their noble gesture and said that it was an example for the youth of the country. He also said that under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the government is taking many steps to increase awareness about organ donation in the country.
Ayushman Bharat is a scheme to provide health coverage to the poor and vulnerable in India. It has two parts:
PM-JAY, which offers health insurance of up to Rs. 5 lakhs per year for hospitalization to over 55 crore beneficiaries.
HWCs, which aim to deliver primary health care services, including preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative care, to the entire population in their area .
The scheme is funded and implemented by the central and state governments.
“No human service can be greater than donating organs to save someone else’s life. Under Ayushman Bharat, we are making people aware of organ donation. A 90-year-old elderly man has set an example for the youth of the country. He has pledged to donate his organs along with all 36 members of his family. I salute their spirit and appeal to everyone to come forward for this noble cause,” Mandaviya tweeted.
According to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), India has one of the lowest rates of organ donation in the world, with only 0.86 donors per million population. The demand for organs far exceeds the supply, resulting in many deaths due to organ failure. The government has been trying to encourage more people to donate their organs by creating a national registry, simplifying the process, and providing incentives and recognition to donors.