IN order to better understand the importance of organ donation, imagine the following: Think of a person who is not wealthy but is talented.

He has the ability to revolutionise the way his world functions and operates but due to some unforeseen reason he is unable to do so. Assume the reason to be organ failure.

Organ failure is a dire condition but it is treatable. It can be treated by the replacement of the non-functioning organ with an external, functioning one.

Over 50,000 people lose their lives because of organ failure. Some people, who have the means, opt to take part in “organ trading” which is an illegal business. According to law, people involved in organ trading/selling can be sentenced up to 10 years in jail.

Pakistanis should know how important even one donor can be, as he can save the lives of many people. But few people are aware of organ donation. In fact, few people realise how unexpectedly life can change for the worse.

This is why it is important that people should know about this very noble and selfless act. Organ donation is the only legal way to give or take an organ.

It is the transplantation of tissue or an organ from a donor to a recipient. Organs like kidneys, eyes, pancreas, liver, heart, lungs and intestines can be donated. Even a person as old as 65 can donate her or his organs.

In other parts of the world, 90,000 people a year wait for organs and roughly 20 die due to the non-availability of organs.

There is only one reason why so many people’s lives are being saved due to this charity: because everyone is aware of and has accepted organ donation.

The people of our country, especially students, should know how important it is to save even one human being if we get the chance to do so. This not only benefits the recipient but it can also benefit the donor.

How, you might ask? It is because such a sacrifice in the name of humanity is always subject to immense respect as it is a lifesaving act, and through this act the donor lives on as a part of the recipient as well as in the memory of his family.

The most efficient way of organ donation is called “deceased organ donation”, as a donor does not need to be alive to donate her/his organ(s).

If the donor is living on the support of machines and is “brain dead”, then the donor can donate his organs. However, it can only be done by the approval of a guardian or by filling out a “donor card” which states that you have pledged your organ(s) for donation.

For now, in Sindh, only SIUT accepts and gives donor cards.

Pakistan is badly in need of as many donations as it can get because it is losing a lot of people due to untreated organ failure. So to save the lives of people, we should pledge our organ(s) and save lives, especially those of our fellow countrymen.

AKASH RAI Class IX Foundation Public School Karachi