NCERT to Incorporate Chapters on Organ Donation in School Textbooks: Promoting Awareness and Education

An expert group is now reviewing an organ donation curriculum that was developed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. If approved, this curriculum would feature a prominent chapter in NCERT science textbooks that will enhance students' knowledge of organ donation.

It is thought to be a critical step in the correct way to include chapters on organ donation in textbooks. Students will obtain a fundamental grasp of the organ donation procedure and how it helps to save many lives by covering these subjects. It is hoped that lessons on these subjects would pique students' interests and motivate them to pursue further education. In the end, this knowledge will strengthen students' sense of social consciousness, maybe leading them to become organ donors in the future.

According to Sunayana Singh, CEO of ORGAN India, a project of the Parashar Foundation, include lessons on organ donation in textbooks is crucial for overcoming Indians' reluctance to make organ donation pledges. Sub-topics including who qualifies as a donor, whose organs may be donated, and how organ failure affects the number of fatalities have to be addressed plainly in both English and regional languages. Students will be more likely to consent to becoming organ donors for organs such as the heart, liver, gut, kidneys, lungs, and pancreas if they are informed about actual issues and solutions.

The inclusion of chapters specifically on organ donation would help India's efforts to address corneal blindness. The relatively easy procedure for giving corneas should be explained to students, and it would be helpful to arrange field trips to neighbouring eye banks for interactive sessions with eye surgeons to further their comprehension of cornea donation.

It is essential to provide people thorough information if you want to encourage them to consider becoming organ donors. Over 200 schools in Delhi and Haryana have participated in interactive workshops led by ORGAN India over the past ten years to promote organ donation. The conversion of students to real organ donors has been limited as a result of the absence of high-quality teaching resources and inconsistent follow-ups in the classroom, even though students have showed interest in the subject when taught using effective conversational approaches.

Implementing this instructional strategy will increase student awareness and spread it to their friends and family, magnifying its beneficial effects. There is a greater possibility that the number of organ donor registrations will rise during the following 8–10 years as the younger generation graduates from school. Students' newly acquired knowledge will help create a broader pool of possible organ donors in the future.