Help the Poor Foundation, a Mumbai-based NGO that has been working towards assisting the lesser privileged in having equal access to organ transplantation today announced its association with Asia’s most visited online crowd funding platform Ketto. Transplants, through its programme JEET (Joint Effort to Enable Transplants), along with Ketto aims to crowd-source funds for those who are in dire need for organ transplant, and cannot afford it.India has, historically, had a very low rate of organ donation. Although this number has improved over the past three-four years, the gap is very wide. As per most recent reports, more than 20,000 individuals are in need of liver transplants in the country. However, less than 5% of these receive a liver before it is too late, with over 80% receiving a liver from a living related donor. The requirement for liver, kidney and hearttransplants stands at threelakh annually, of which only around 8,000 manage to receive a transplant, with almost 90 percent receiving a living donor transplant. For patients waiting for a heart cut out and lung transplant, the chances of finding an organ is very small, at around 5 percent or even less.Prof (Dr) Darius Mirza, MS, FRCS and Co-founder of Transplants - Help the poor Foundation, expressing his joy, said: "We are glad that Ketto has stepped forward to support this worthy cause. In the case of organ donation, awareness is as important as donation. So, Ketto is actually helping us twice over. And, I am confident that this association will help to attain equal access to organ transplantation through funds collected from the public and corporates. Awareness about the extent of the problem will also bridge the gap between demand and availability of donated organs for transplants.”Also, speaking on this association, Mr. Varun Sheth – Co-Founder & CEO, Ketto, said: We are thrilled that our platform is able to partner with an inspiring NGO who is involved in such noble work. We are confident of being able to leverage our credibility among the financially sound to convince them to give open-heartedly, as also using out wide network of supporters to raise awareness about the problem of organ shortage among the people who matter. We look forward to collaborating with Transplants – Help the Poor Foundation, and being a part of this great cause.
