In Odisha, organ donors' funeral to be held with full state honours

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced a new initiative to encourage organ donation in the state. Under this initiative, the funeral of organ donors will be conducted with full state honors. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) announced this on Thursday.

The chief minister hoped that the initiative will create awareness in society about the importance of organ donation and motivate more people to come forward. While noting that organ donation is a noble gesture, he said the relatives of brain dead people, who take courageous decision on donating the organs, play an important role in saving many human lives.

To further support organ donation, the Odisha government established the State Organ & Tissues Transplant Organization (SOTTO) in 2019. Additionally, the government introduced the Suraj Award in 2020, named after a young individual from Bhanjanagar, Ganjam district. Suraj was declared brain dead after a road accident, and his family's decision to donate his organs resulted in six lives being saved.


In recognition of the immense contribution made by organ donors, the government provides a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the families of these donors.

Last year, the Government of India adopted the policy of “One Nation, One Policy” for Organ Donation and Transplantation. Under the policy, it has been decided to remove the requirement of domicile of the state for registration of patients requiring organ transplantation from deceased donor. Now such patients will be able to go to any state of the country and register themselves for organ transplantation. As per the new government guidelines, the upper age limit of 65 years for eligibility for registration to receive deceased donor organ has been removed. Now, a person of any age can register for receiving deceased donor organ.