There is no greater good than saving a life and organ donation is one of the noblest ways to save lives. Even though humble cause, Organ donation is yet to become a norm. In India currently, the organ donation rate is 0.25% per million population. There is hope though. With strict laws in place, mandatory outreach programs and support groups working tirelessly towards making organ donation a mainstream practice, there have been some positive changes.
Abhinav Singh Pangtey is one such story. Abhinav was leading an active, healthy fulfilling life. He was a star hockey and football player and even played under-16 cricket at the district level,! All this came to a sudden halt when Abhinav Pangtey at the age of 28 realized his vision had become blurry. A series of tests suggested an undiagnosed blood pressure condition which eventually led to the discovery of 90% damage in his kidneys. After storming through months of dialysis Abhinav finally received a kidney transplant from his sister. He is now recovered and living an active life! In 2021he married Asha, who herself had donated a kidney to her brother. He currently runs a construction business in his hometown in Uttarakhand and is eagerly preparing for the World Transplant Games in Australia, where he aims to compete in basketball, athletics and football!
“Scarcity of organs is a problem that plagues the world. While many factors have contributed to the improved rate of donation in India also but there is still a huge gap that continues to fuel the crisis. With World Transplant Games, there is hope that there will be more awareness and information.
ORGAN India is excited to be a part of the WTG and we aim to not only aim to create public awareness but also be able to guide recipients and make them understand the process so that they are able to register themselves and are aware of their options”, shared Sunayana Singh, CEO ORGAN India.
For Davies Jose Kollannur too life changed at the young age of 28. He was living in Saudi Arabia when multiple symptoms led him to discover that he was suffering from kidney failure. After leaving his job, Davies moved to India for treatment. He underwent dialysis for 3 years and was finally able to receive a kidney transplant in 2001. An avid badminton player, he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to play badminton but his doctor and the people around him encouraged him to take up the sport once again. Since then, Davies has gone from success to success, winning medals and the All-India and SAARC Transplant games as well as multiple medals at the World Transplant Games in 2011 and 2013. He also dedicates his time in helping other transplant patients as the Transplant Coordinator at Westfort Hospital Thrissur.
His medal tally would only have increased if it were not for another health crisis. In 2014, he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the treatment of which caused his graft to start failing. He once again had to undergo a transplant in 2016. Many others would have given up on their dreams of sports at this stage, but Davies is not one of those people. He picked up the racket again and participated in the World Transplant Games in Newcastle in 2019 and is already training for yet another medal at the World Transplant Games 2023 in Perth!
For many people battling life and death situations, Organ Donation is a boon, a chance at a second life and on World Organ Donation Day, we hope that no life is lost due to scarcity of organs.
