THE scale of the tragedy is almost impossible to comprehend. In Pakistan, thousands wait every year for organ donations, but for the overwhelming majority, the wait is in vain.

At the moment, at just one facility, the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi, there are over 250 people in need of organ donation.

Unfortunately, most are not likely to be extended a lifeline. What makes matters worse is that from the point of view of legality and medical and religious ethics, the issue of cadaveric donations is already settled.

The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act was passed as far back as 2010, and there has been across-the-board consensus amongst medical practitioners and religious scholars that once a patient has been declared brain-dead, the donation of his/her organs and tissues is not only allowed but is also regarded as constituting a noble act.

And yet, regrettably enough, it seems that since 1985, when organ transplantations started in the country, only five individuals have received cadaver donations.

These were the unfortunate realities discussed at the seminar ‘Deceased Organ Donation: Challenges and Solutions’, organised by the SIUT in Karachi on Saturday.

This facility is one of the very few that has over the years kept up the clarion call to normalise the idea of cadaveric donations in Pakistan.

So when it says that society remains unmoved — that doctors often do not declare brain death, or fail to talk to the family regarding their consent for organ donation, that the clergy hardly makes any effort to counter misconceptions, and that the media is not willing to rise above commercial interests and create awareness on the issue free of cost — it ought to be listened to.

Despite having the framework in place, Pakistan has so far not managed to change the societal mindset regarding the donation of organs, even cadaveric donations.

As the SIUT has pointed out, the medical, religious and media communities need to ensure that they are contributing to the goal.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2016