State burial proposed for organ donors

The Provincial Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME), Dr Ahmed Javed Qazi, recommended to the government to give state burial, a special award and a title to a person who donated all of their body parts after their death.

"We will recommend to the government to bury a donor wrapped in the national flag, a special award and posthumous title for donating his all body parts."

He said this while addressing an awareness seminar titled “Human Organ Transplantation” held under the auspices of the Punjab Human Organ Transplantation (PHOTA) and the Nishtar Medical University here on Tuesday.

It would help the government stop the “foul smelling” mafia who was engaged in illegal organ trade, he said and added that they needed to develop a provincial strategy.

He underlined the need of financial investment for transplantation in South Punjab, adding that social and cultural taboos should be addressed in this connection because it (transplantation) was a clinically acceptable practice in the world.

"What would our world be [like] without vision," the secretary asked.

Qazi said that the region had been the food basket of the country, and “we need to invest more in South Punjab”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2022.