Last month, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s general body passed the proposal allowing free electric cremation to “bodies of donors of eye or some parts of body before or after death or full body donation”. This comes when the Union Health Ministry, while drafting changes to the Human Organ Transplantation Act, 1994, is exploring the possibilities of providing state funeral and ensure presence of an MLA or a government functionary at the funeral of a donor, as followed in Spain.

Savla, who handles the eye-donation programme for the Lalbaug-based social organisation Tarun Mitra Mandal, had dashed off a letter to the civic body in 2006 suggesting that eye donors should be given free cremation to promote the cause.

“While thinking about how to promote it, I thought if cremation could be done free for donors, it could prove to be the turning point. The idea was that it would instil a sense of pride in the family for having donated the eyes,” says Savla, a businessman and property dealer who does social service “because it feels good”.

According to BMC, the free electric cremation will be offered if the organisation where registration for eye/organ donation has been done is itself registered with the Charity Commissioner.

“We had proposed it (free cremation of organ donors). It has not come to us yet for implementation. It is an incentive for those who come forward to donate,” said Dr Jairaj Thanekar, executive health officer of the BMC.

Currently, the BMC charges Rs 175 to dispose the body of a child below 12 years and Rs 250 for an adult at electric crematoriums.

Savla said unlike in many parts of the country, people in Mumbai were aware of organ donation but didn’t know how to go about it. “Also, mostly it is the elderly who donate organs. Eyes of young people or children are hardly donated. This needs to change,” he said.

Savla said more people would come forward for organ donation only if the misbeliefs were dispelled and government developed a good support system. “Kuch samman mile government ki taraf se. Instilling a sense of pride that one could help someone regain sight after death may help,” Salva said.

Also, Savla added, once there will be no shortage of organs, people won’t shell out money to buy them.