Organ recipients and donor families come together as participants pledge to give the gift of life through organ donation.
FARIDABAD: In a heartfelt celebration of the gift of life, living organ donors and transplant recipients came together at Marengo Asia Hospitals, Faridabad, on World Organ Donation Day. The gathering brought together individuals who chose to donate an organ to give someone a second chance at life, alongside recipients whose lives were transformed through transplantation. Their shared experiences highlighted the courage, compassion and profound human connection behind organ donation, while reinforcing the need to create greater awareness and encourage more people to support the cause.
‘Baton of Life’ campaign launched
Marengo Asia Hospitals has, over the years, strengthened its transplant programme and achieved significant milestones across multiple specialties. In 2025–26 alone, hospitals across the network performed more than 250 transplants, including kidney, liver, bone marrow, heart and lung transplants. Through the “Baton of Life” initiative, Marengo Asia Hospitals aims to spread awareness about about organ donation and encouraging more people to pledge their organs and help build a future where more patients can receive a second chance at life.
Dr. Navneet Singh Chhabra, Facility Director, Marengo Asia Hospitals Faridabad, said, “’Baton of Life’ represents the passing on the hope from one person to another. There is a significant need to create greater awareness about organ donation and address the myths and hesitation that often surround it. A pledge is an important first step, but equally important is having a conversation with our families so that our wishes are understood. Organ donation is ultimately about giving someone the opportunity to live when we can no longer do so.”
Transplant specialists from Marengo Asia Hospitals, Faridabad, including Dr (Brig.) Sameer Kumar, Heart & Lung Transplant Surgeon; Dr Ritesh Mongha, Kidney Transplant Surgeon; Dr Shriram Kabra, Kidney Transplant; and Dr Puneet Singla, Liver Transplant Surgeon, highlighted the urgent need to strengthen deceased organ donation in India. While the country achieved a record 20,138 organ transplants in 2025, only 3,526 were deceased-donor organ transplants, underscoring the significant gap between the need for organs and their availability. The specialists also interacted with living organ donors and transplant recipients, who shared their personal journeys and experiences of how organ donation and transplantation had transformed their lives.
The scale of the unmet need remains substantial. According to data reported by transplant hospitals on the National Registry Portal, as of 8 December 2025, 60,590 patients were waiting for a kidney transplant and another 18,724 for a liver transplant—nearly 79,000 patients awaiting these two organs alone. The doctors emphasised that increasing deceased organ donation has the potential to significantly bridge this demand-supply gap, as a single deceased donor can potentially save up to eight lives through organ donation.
The experts further emphasised that organ transplantation goes far beyond a medical procedure—it can offer a second chance at life to patients living with end-stage organ failure. For many such patients, transplantation can mean the possibility of moving beyond prolonged illness and returning to a more meaningful and productive life. Through greater awareness, more organ-donation pledges and informed conversations within families, the gap between patients waiting for an organ and the number of organs available for transplantation can gradually be reduced.
