Pune: Over 1,000 pledge to donate organs with QR code

PUNE: Over a thousand individuals from the Pune division have pledged for organ donation via Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre's (ZTCC) QR code.
Aarti Gokhale, transplant coordinator, ZTCC, told TOI, "Around 1,000 people have pledged for organ donation since last year. Apart from that, they can pledge by visiting the hospitals or at the non-government organisations." ZTCC is an apex body that oversees the allocation of donated organs.

According to Gokhale, the introduction of the QR code has encouraged more volunteers to enrol and spread awareness about organ donation. "There was a village in Purandar taluka where around 350 pledges were taken last August alone," she said.
Gokhale said the villagers were sensitized about the need for the organ donation.
She said on birthdays or anniversaries the response scales higher. "The data of the pledges are sent to the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO) first and then to the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO). It is later sent to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO)," she added.
The QR code has made the organ donation system easier for enrolment purpose. After scanning via mobile, it directly takes the individual to the website where they can fill their basic details. Once a person scans the code using a mobile camera, a pledge form window is opened where the person can add a name, age, address, blood group, and mobile number before submitting it. After submission of the pledge, the person will receive a soft copy of the donor card immediately.
Gokhale also said as the actual deceased organ donations were low this year, the ZTCC is conducting various awareness drives across the region.
The ZTCC had developed the QR code to reach out to people during the pandemic through their smartphones, to spread awareness about organ donation and meet the huge gap in demand and supply. The concept was introduced in June, 2021.
According to the ZTCC officials, it also maintains the computerized waiting list of the recipients for each organ. It connects with every registered waiting recipient with fair distribution of the organs as per the government guidelines.
Earlier, in the month of April and May this year, around seven organ donations have been recorded by the ZTCC Pune, said the official.