Addition of organ donation column in driving licence form hailed

A social group pushing for a change in the driving licence application form to allow an applicant to pledge for his/her organ donation has welcomed the government move on this, saying awareness and easy process will encourage people to donate organs.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport in an advisory last month had asked all Regional Transport Offices (RTO) across the country to add a column in the application form for Driving Licence (DL), so that an applicant could express his willingness to donate organs.

"The new provision would be an extremely significant step in the endeavour to save lives via donating organs. The idea behind this step is that if someone who has pledged for organ donation dies in a road accident, his/ her organs can be harvested," said Bhavna Jagwani, Convener, MFJCF, a Rajasthan-based NGO for organ donation.

Nearly five lakh road accidents occur in India every year, killing around 148,000 people and leaving thrice the number injured.

MOHAN Foundation Jaipur Citizen Forum (MFJCF) had been pursuing the cause with the Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari since 2016.

"We are encouraged to note that the promise made by the Minister two years back has now become a reality," Jagwani said.

In the present times, a pledge to donate organ becomes very significant, as there is less than one organ donor in a million in India and over three million deaths have been recorded since 2005 due to non-availability of organs.

--IANS

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