New Delhi (NVI): President Ram Nath Kovind today stressed upon the need for organ donation in the country while asserting that there is a need to create awareness on the issue.
The President, while addressing the 10th Foundation Day of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, ILBS here said, “There is a huge gap between the requirement and availability of organs needed for saving lives. The dearth of donors results mainly from the lack of awareness about organ donation.
President Kovind also urged ILBS to prepare a roadmap suggesting ways and means to encourage liver donation, to improve the related procedures and protocols, and to strengthen the infrastructure needed to support a higher number of liver transplants than is currently possible.
Speaking on the issue, he said that in the country, around two lakh liver transplants are required in a year, while only a few thousand are done every year.
The President said that the growing incidence of liver diseases is also linked to our unhealthy lifestyles.
He noted that, at present, nearly one out of four Indians have fatty liver and maybe ten per cent of them have liver diseases due to excessive body fat.
“This condition is known to be a precursor to development of diabetes and heart disease. And diabetics have greater incidence of liver disease than others,” he said.
“It is for institutes like ILBS to take up research that can clarify the linkages between our lifestyle and liver diseases. That would help in developing a preventive care system based in lifestyle changes,” he added.
