Varun Gandhi to Bring Private Member Bill for Registration of All Adult Citizens as Organ Donors

BJP MP Varun Gandhi Thursday said he will introduce a private member's bill proposing to make it compulsory for all adults to be registered as organ donors to promote cadaver donation, but they will be free to opt out.

The ‘Donation and Transplantation of Human Organ Bill, 2020' is likely to be introduced by Varun Gandhi in the upcoming monsoon session of parliament.

It proposes to make every individual a donor by default, unless he or she opts out, he said. Underlining that India has a shortage of organ donors and there is a huge gap between demand and supply, Varun said the lack of strong policies to make organ donation compulsory leads to the death of over five lakh people every year in the country.

There is a need of 2,00,000 kidneys, 50,000 hearts and 50,000 livers for transplantation every year, said the Pilibhit MP. Aiming to bridge this gap and to reduce death due to non-availability of organs, Varun announced on Twitter, "I will be introducing a private member's bill that proposes to put all adult citizens in a national organ donation register, which anyone can voluntarily opt out off. This will ensure a reduction in the number of deaths due to non-availability of organs." He used the hashtag #OrganDonationDay.

“The bill makes it compulsory for a citizen turning above 18 years of age to be registered as an organ donor unless an objection notice was filed by the person,” Varun said. There is a need for a policy to promote cadaver organ donation, he said, pointing out that organ donation in India is largely from living donors and the rate of organ donation from deceased persons is very low at 0.8 per million populations.

Advocating for a shift in organ donation policy, Varun said from the current opt-in system it should be an opt-out system where every individual shall become a donor by default under the law and this will ensure increase in the rate of cadaver donations. A private member's bill is a piece of legislation proposed by a parliamentarian in his or her personal capacity and has nothing to do with party he or she belongs to