For 37-year-old Nandlal Varchant, a truck driver, life has never been easy and it is not going to be easy anymore, especially when his 15-year-old son from whom he had high hopes left for heavenly abode in July. Nandlal, who himself has never been to a school, had left no stone unturned to ensure a good education for his son. However, an accident in the hostel led to the latter's death leaving a void in the poor truck driver's life. Nandlal on Tuesday was felicitated in front of a houseful auditorium by Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC) for his noble deed—turning his son's death into a blessing of life for three persons, who urgently required organ transplantation. As his noble act was being praised by all, tears rolled down, not just of Nandlal, but 58 other donor families who had saved someone's life by donating the organs of their 'brain dead' son. Nandlal, who could not stop crying remembering his son, told DNA: "My son is dead. He would not return, but when doctors explained to me that I can save several lives by donating his organs, I agreed. For me, it was the best way to keep my son alive". Notably, the felicitation ceremony of the 59 families saw charged-up emotions, with doctors explaining the situation as an amalgamation of joy and sorrow—the sorrow of losing someone and the joy of saving someone. Saving Lives 2,500 patients are in the waiting list for kidney transplantation at IKDRC Number of patients waiting for liver transplantation at IKDRC is around 350 According to doctors, creating awareness on the organ donation is need of the hour For 17-year-old Dhruv Darzi, organ transplantation has a completely different meaning. "I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and required a kidney transplant. The problem was that my family members could not donate a kidney to me because of a matching issue. I enrolled for cadaver donor and after waiting for two years for a matching kidney, the transplantation was finally carried out on July 17. I am now able to do all my routine activities and do not have to depend on dialysis," he said. According to IKDRC's in-charge director Vineet Mishra, there is a wide gap between the need and availability of organs in India, resulting in a long waiting list for patients requiring an organ transplant. "We need to create more awareness on the subject and bust the myths associated with it to reduce the gap," he said. Notably, 2,500 patients are in the waiting list for kidney transplantation at IKDRC, whereas the number of patients waiting for liver transplantation is around 350.

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