A brain-dead person can donate vital organs to eight people, but organ donation rates in India are very low, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Devi Prasad Shetty said at the seminar on 'A Gift Like No Other', organised jointly by the Nephrology Association of Karnataka (NAK) and the government's State Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO).
Most recipients are young breadwinners, he said.
Justice Santosh Hegde said: "One of the most important acts of humanism is the desire to donate organs. I have seen families who received organs and there is nothing like watching them."
The seminar, in which religious leaders and experts spoke, addressed the myths and superstitions surrounding organ donation, and shared success stories.
Sri Shivarudra Swami of Belimutt in the city said that no religion prohibits organ donation. "I hope we soon reach a stage where all organ recipients are blessed with a second life."