New Delhi: BJP MP Varun Gandhi said Thursday he will introduce a private member’s bill. The bill will make it compulsory for all adults to register as organ donors to promote cadaver donation. However, if necessary, they can later opt out from the scheme. Varun Gandhi has titled the bill as ‘The Donation and Transplantation of Human Organ Bill, 2020’. It is likely to be introduced in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament.
The bill proposes to make every individual a donor by default, unless he or she opts out, informed Varun. The BJP MP also said that India has a shortage of organ donors. Hence 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 India.
There is a need of 2,00,000 kidneys, 50,000 hearts and 50,000 livers for transplantation every year, said the MP from Pilibhit. Aiming to bridge this gap and to reduce death due to non-availability of organs, Varun announced the news of the bill on his Twitter account.
“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,” Varun said. He used the hashtag #OrganDonationDay.
See link: https://twitter.com/varungandhi80/status/1293769618868154373
The bill makes it compulsory for a citizen turning above 18 years of age to be registered as an organ donor, informed Varun. There is a need for a policy to promote cadaver organ donation, he asserted and pointed 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. It has nothing to do with the party he or she belongs to. Then the House can take up the proceedings on the bill.