PATNA, Aug. 10 -- Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Sunday said the state government would work towards introducing legislation and policy changes to promote organ donation, while formally bringing the Dadhichi Dehdaan Samiti on board as a partner in the state's healthcare system. Addressing the joint celebration of the 4th National Organ Donation Day and 12th International Organ Donation Day, organised by the Dadhichi Dehdaan Samiti at the Bihar Chamber of Commerce in Patna, Choudhary said the government would consult stakeholders and the Samiti to identify and address legal and procedural hurdles to organ donation. He also pledged full government support to the samiti's awareness and outreach initiatives, saying its members would work alongside district and sub-divisional hospitals and medical colleges to take the message of organ donation to people across the state. The government will also explore similar awareness programmes in private hospitals. "There can be no greater fulfilment for a family than bringing happiness into someone else's life after death," Choudhary said, describing organ donation as an expression of humanity, compassion and responsibility towards life. The chief minister stressed the need for a sustained "jan-jan jagran" campaign, saying that while people were generally aware of organ donation, very few actually came forward to pledge their organs. Families, he said, are often emotionally overwhelmed immediately after a death, making it important to build awareness and social acceptance well in advance. Choudhary said a kidney donation could give a patient a new lease of life, while eye donation could restore sight. He said the government would examine and amend laws, wherever necessary, to facilitate wider organ-donation activity across public and private healthcare facilities. The announcement comes amid a severe shortage of eye and organ donors in Bihar. The state requires around 12,000 corneal transplants annually, but only 250-300 patients receive them. Since eye banks were introduced in medical colleges in 2013, around 1,880 people have donated their eyes, resulting in 1,524 corneal transplants. Nine medical colleges currently have eye banks, with IGIMS accounting for around 1,200 eye donations, followed by PMCH (450), Muzaffarpur Medical College (160), DMCH (64), NMCH (60), Katihar Medical College (46) and Bhagalpur (2). Organ donation remains even more limited. According to the Dadhichi Dehdaan Samiti, only 27 people in Bihar have donated organs in the past 13 years. Low public awareness and difficulty in securing consent from grieving families have been identified as major barriers. The CM also announced measures to strengthen district-level healthcare, saying district and sub-divisional hospitals would be equipped to perform more procedures locally and reduce referrals to major hospitals in Patna. "A list of 40 procedures will be put up that will have to be performed at district hospitals," Choudhary said, adding that procedures earlier routinely referred to PMCH and IGIMS would increasingly be handled at district-level facilities. Choudhary also paid tribute to former deputy chief minister late Sushil Kumar Modi for his association with the Dadhichi Dehdaan Samiti and his contribution to promoting organ donation in Bihar. The chief minister felicitated several people for their contribution to the cause, including advocate general SD Sanjay, MLA Sanjeev Chourasia, Patna mayor Sita Sahu, IGIMS deputy director Dr Bibhuti Prassan Sinha and superintendent Dr Manish Mandal. Assam governor Lakshman Acharya, Padma awardee and Donate Life founder Nilesh Manlewala and Bimal Jalan, former Sikkim governor Ganga Prasad Chaurasia, BJP general secretary Bhikhubhai Dalsania and samiti senior vice-president Dr Subhash Prasad were among those present....