In an already gender-despaired country such as ours, a medical procedure that requires a patient to give a part of their organ to the needy one is also gender dominant. Only here, women are in the majority. A 33-year-old woman, a lecturer, and mother of a 4-year-old son, died due to complications after she donated a part of her liver to a relative. Not only this, but there are several cases where women are organ donors to their relatives, and this has raised the question as to why women, in majority, have to undergo this medical procedure and men don't.
In 2021, a study that was published in the Experimental and Clinical Transplantation Journal discovered a significant gender gap in the country regarding living organ transplantation. According to data analysis on organ transplants in 2019, 80% of living organ donors are women, typically wives or mothers, and 80% of recipients are men.
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What makes women be the dominant donors?
Socio-Cultural Practice:
Women naturally have the 'every-giving' trait in them. They are the caregivers of their families. The key reason for them being majority donors is the traditional role women play in Indian society, where they are often the primary caregivers. Women tend to be more involved in health-related decisions within families, and this caregiving nature extends to the idea of organ donation. Many women, being central to family care, may feel a stronger sense of responsibility when it comes to giving life, even after death, through organ donation.
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Health Conditions
Another reason why women are majority donors compared to men is due to health reasons. In the highlight of the Bengaluru women's death, we asked a professional about the reason behind women being the majority donors. "There is indeed a trend that women donors tend to be more common than male donors. One reason is that in the general population, consumption of alcohol is much higher in men, and that is what makes a lot of men ineligible for organ donation," said Dr. Akash Shukla, Director & Consultant, Hepatology, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Mumbai.
When asked about complications involved in liver transplantation, especially for women, he said, "The liver can grow back to full size in approximately 3 to 4 weeks, and there are usually no major long term complications because of the surgery itself. It usually does not affect the fertility, but there is a scar that remains but is minimized now with the use of minimally invasive surgeries, but there is still a scar nonetheless, which stays, and that can be an issue."
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What can be the solution to this gender bias?
To ensure fewer organ donations from women and taking the burden of being the torch-bearer, transplant surgeons across the nation believe more in cadaver transplants instead of live transplant. Cadaver transplants involve organ harvesting from dead bodies instead of living humans.
This looks like the only possible and sensible solution to minimize the pressure of organ donation for women. The only limitation to Cadaver transplant is that the patient has to enroll in the waitlist to get the donor, irrespective of the gender. Doctors believe that this will ensure that women are not forced into donating their organs.
