Kashmir Impulse Desk

Jammu, June 27

Religious leaders, healthcare professionals and community organisations from across Jammu and Kashmir gathered on Saturday for the region’s first interfaith conference dedicated to promoting organ donation, seeking to dispel religious misconceptions that experts say continue to hinder life-saving transplants in India.

The “Sarv Dharam (Interfaith) Awareness Meet on Organ Donation,” organised by the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), brought together representatives of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Jain and Buddhist communities in Jammu to emphasise that organ donation is compatible with the teachings of all major religions.

Health officials described the meeting as a milestone in Jammu and Kashmir’s efforts to increase public awareness about organ and tissue donation, where low donor registration rates and misconceptions surrounding religious beliefs remain among the principal barriers to transplantation.

“Compassion, charity and saving human lives are values shared by every major religion,” said Elias Sharma, Nodal Officer of SOTTO Jammu and Kashmir and Head of the Department of Urology at Government Medical College Jammu. “The objective of this programme is to bring faith leaders together so that society understands organ donation as an act of humanity rather than a matter of religious debate.”

The conference, organised in collaboration with the S.S. Jain Sabha Jammu, brought together religious scholars, elected representatives, non-governmental organisations, social activists and medical professionals to promote a common humanitarian message transcending faith.

Addressing the gathering, Poonam Mahajan, Joint Director of SOTTO, presented an overview of organ donation through the perspective of different religions, citing teachings from Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Jainism and Buddhism that encourage compassion, selfless service and the preservation of human life.

She said religious doctrine was often incorrectly cited as a reason for refusing organ donation despite broad acceptance among most major faith traditions.

“Across religions, saving another person’s life is regarded as one of the noblest forms of service,” Mahajan said. “Organ donation represents an extension of that principle.”

Representatives of various religious communities echoed the message, urging people not to allow misconceptions to discourage them from registering as organ donors.

Participants unanimously described organ donation as a humanitarian act capable of saving multiple lives and called for wider public awareness campaigns to encourage voluntary donor registration.

The programme also featured a musical performance promoting organ donation by members of the Shraman Sanskriti Manch.

Community leaders from the Sikh, Muslim, Christian, Kashmiri Pandit and Aggarwal communities, along with representatives of the Brahma Kumaris, healthcare institutions and civil society organisations, pledged to support awareness campaigns aimed at increasing organ donation across Jammu and Kashmir.

Several participants said trusted religious institutions could play a significant role in addressing public hesitation by clarifying that organ donation is consistent with the ethical teachings of their respective faiths.

Legislators Arvind Gupta, Vikram Randhawa and Yudhvir Sethi, who attended the programme, praised the initiative and called for sustained public outreach to bridge the gap between the growing need for organ transplantation and the limited availability of donor organs.

They also commended SOTTO and the Jain community for bringing together religious and social organisations on a common platform to promote what they described as a life-saving cause.

Suneel Jain, president of the S S Jain Sabha Jammu, said the organisation would continue supporting community awareness programmes to encourage greater acceptance of organ donation.

At the conclusion of the event, participants collectively pledged to combat myths surrounding organ donation and encourage more people to register as voluntary donors, describing the initiative as a shared humanitarian responsibility beyond religious identity.

India continues to face a significant shortage of organ donors despite growing demand for transplants. According to health experts, thousands of patients die each year while waiting for organs, with limited public awareness and persistent social and religious misconceptions contributing to low donation rates.

Health authorities have increasingly sought to involve religious leaders and community organisations in efforts to improve public confidence and expand voluntary organ donation programmes.