In Kolkata, end-of-life choices are gradually shifting as people rethink traditional rituals around burial and cremation. Even as the Christian Burial Board creates dedicated spaces like the Dignity Burial section at Lower Circular Road Cemetery to ensure respectful farewells for those without family or financial means, many others across the city are turning to body and organ donation as a way to leave behind something of lasting value. From providing dignified burials for the marginalised to enabling medical education and saving lives, the city is witnessing a meaningful transformation in how people choose to be remembered.
One of them is Rita Ambett, a retired teacher who pledged her eyes and body along with her husband. She said, “We pledged to donate our eyes so that people who have no vision can get back their vision. After our death, our eyes will be wasted if we are cremated or buried. We have filled in forms at NRS Medical College for our bodies. In this case, we will get priority and our bodies will be accepted by the hospital without any hassle. We have patients desperately looking for people who would donate their organs. This made us think, why not be of some help to people who are in need?”
Kolkata-based consultant Arnab Mandal believes donation is a way of giving back. He said, “To help a person or persons suffering from organ failure, my single body donation can help save many lives. Multiple organs can be collected from my body and given to people who can’t survive the organ. I will die happily knowing that I have contributed to society even after death.”
Choosing donation when there is no family
Many Kolkatans are turning to body and organ donation as a way to leave behind something of lasting value
For some donors, the choice is shaped by circumstance rather than just belief. A retired teacher from Kolkata, who lived alone, pledged to donate his body when he moved to an old-age home. He said, “I am a bachelor and I do not have any close relatives living here. When I turned 70, I decided to sell my house and live in an old-age home. I also donated my body because I did not have a grave bought in my name. It was a wise thing to do.”
But for many who have no immediate family, the system makes body donation difficult. A non-relative often cannot complete the paperwork required after death and may face challenges in obtaining the death certificate needed for formalities.
In such situations, cremation becomes the more practical option. Soma Roy, a retired professor in her 60s, explained, “It is more difficult for non-relatives to get hold of a death certificate if the body is donated. In such cases, cremation is the best option.” She added that her father had donated his body, but she preferred cremation herself so that her friends would not face complications in handling her inheritance.
Understanding the life-saving impact
Doctors say awareness about body donation is growing, and with it, the number of transplants
Doctors say awareness is growing, and with it, the number of transplants. Kayapanda Muthana Mandana, director of Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery at Fortis Hospital Anandapur, said that organ donation has steadily increased in India over the years. He explained, “Heart transplants were rare before the Covid era, with only around 250 operations each year, but the number is now climbing because more people understand how just one donor can save multiple lives. He said that a single donor’s heart and lungs can rescue or improve the lives of up to three people suffering from severe organ failure”. He added that better communication with families, more licensed centres and greater public awareness are helping this change.
To pledge your body for donation in India, you need to contact a recognised medical college or hospital or the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization and fill out their body donation form, which includes personal details, identification and witness signatures.
Some institutions also issue a donor card. Equally important is informing your family or close contacts, because their consent is required at the time of death for the donation to proceed. You should keep copies of the pledge form in an accessible place and clearly communicate who to call immediately after death so that a death slip can be issued and the body can be transported to the institution. In certain circumstances, such as legal cases or specific medical conditions, acceptance may be prevented, so some people register with more than one institution as a precaution.