Patna: Altogether 9,447 people have opted for organ/body donation in the state while applying for their driving licence.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Modi revealed this on Monday during a programme on World Organ Donation Day organised by Dadhichi Den Dan Samiti (Modi happens to be the patron of the organisation) at Ravindra Bhavan.

The new driving licence, which has been introduced after an amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act, has an option for declaring that the licence holder can donate organs in case of accidental death.

Sushil said brain-death declaration committees will be formed in all state-run medical college hospitals so that organs declared as brain-dead can be harvested and transplanted into needy patients.

"The state government would also recruit counsellors in government medical college hospitals whose role would be to motivate people to opt for organ donation," he said.

He said organ donation gives a chance of life to others and is like living after death.

The deputy chief minister also declared that after his retirement from politics, he would mainly work for the promotion of organ and body donation in the state.

"So far 250 people have undergone corneal transplant surgery in the state," Sushil said. "We are going to start corneal transplant surgeries in all government medical colleges by October 2. We are going to ensure that corneal blindness cases are not reported in the state in future."

Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda hailed the state government for taking steps to start transplant surgeries and said the state government now needs to take up programmes to counsel attendants of dead patients and brain-dead declared patients so that they give their consent for organ donation.

Family members of 15 people who donated corneas were felicitated on the occasion. Union minister of state Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Meghalaya governor Ganga Prasad and MLA Sanjeev Chourasiya were among others present.