Organ donation is the process of donating organs or biological tissue to a living recipient who needs a transplant.Although transplants can save or greatly improve the lives of others, it depends on the donors and their families who agree to donate their organs. There are two types of organ donation: living organ donations and deceased organ donations. On average organ donors can donate up to 25 different organs and tissues for a transplant. And one donor can save up to nine lives. Despite this optimistic fact, nearly half a million people die each year in India due to the unavailability of organs. In other words, a patient dies every minute because he/she does not receive an organ. Reasons include a lack of awareness regarding organ donation and therefore a shortage of donors who are willing to donate their organs. One of the major reasons for a shortage of organs transplants is the lack of infrastructure needed to facilitate donations and transplants in India. The first step is awareness and the increasing rate of organ donation in India. Here's all you need to know about how organ donation works, from donation to the transplantation stage.Organ donation is a voluntary process. Once a person decides to become an organ donor they can fill an online form available in NGOs and nearby hospitals and sign up to indicate their intention to donate. Once registered, they will get a donor card. But the card is not legally binding and the final consent to donate is taken by family members. The second way the deceased donation takes place is when a patient is declared a brain dead, which means that all brain functions have been permanently damaged and the condition is irreversible.To ensure the patient's brain death, a team of doctors from the hospital conducts a series of tests twice over a period of 4 to 6 hours. A death certificate is issued after the absence of stimuli. Once the death certificate has been issued, the doctors inform the donor’s family about the functioning organs that can be donated. If the patient is already a registered donor, the process of donation becomes easier because the donor card advocates the patient's willingness to donate organs. However, in both scenarios, whether the patient is a registered donor or not, since the decision belongs to the family - the organ transplant protocol is initiated only after they have given their consent. Once the family has given their consent, the hunt begins for a potential recipient.A person requiring an organ transplant must be placed on the waiting list managed by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO). Once registered, the recipient must wait for a matching donor to arrive. Once an appropriate donor is identified on the basis of medical compatibility, the recipient is informed of his / her identity and the fact that the transplant can now take place.If you’re interested in becoming a organ donor, please register your wish Organ India.Thanks for reading!