Anecdotes of Indian women donating organs to their partners or family members in times of need are plentiful, but such accounts involving men are much rarer.

We saw a story hidden in plain sight, waiting to be told. Why was there a perceived sense of gender imbalance in organ donation — and what did the data show?

To the surprise of The Quint’s reporters, there’s no centralised data for living organ donation in India. That wasn’t the only challenge in reporting on such a serious disparity. It also wasn’t going to be easy to get women organ donors to speak openly about whether their decision to donate was a choice or the result of coercion.

These challenges dictated the approach The Quint would take in giving this important story of gender disparity in healthcare its due.

A unified effort

The gender and health reporters worked together to find case studies with the help of top nephrologists, spending time with them during their hospital visits, and interviewing recipients and other family members. They also interviewed the nephrologists to “collect” data on organ donations in three of the largest Indian hospitals.

The sensitive nature of the story underscored the necessity and inevitability of collaborating with the multimedia team to create an interactive scrollytelling experience, weaving together poignant real-life accounts of women with striking illustrations, graphics, and animations.

A broad, systemic gender issue

The stories were compelling: A Bengaluru-based professional felt compelled to donate a kidney to her father-in-law, despite having recently given birth. Similarly, a middle-class homemaker donated a portion of her liver to save her husband regardless of the financial and emotional strain on her family. These personal narratives are not isolated incidents but part of a broader, systemic issue.

The Quint’s multimedia immersive “Patriarchy’s Silent Hand” pulled back the curtain on this lesser-known reality. Women — often driven by societal expectations, a deep sense of familial duty, economic dependencies, and physiological suitability — are left with little to no choice when it comes to organ donation.

The story, beautifully brought to life with the multimedia immersive experience, was crafted using Shorthand. The illustrator, who is a woman, used subtle, evocative colours to highlight the often-overlooked sacrifices of women, including the lack of prioritisation they face when needing organ transplants.

Neither of these transplant surgeries are “complicated” in today’s India. But one key aspect is impacted — the time taken for recovery. The perception of women not being “breadwinners” contributes to why more women become donors than men.

The missing data

When The Quint reporters talked to nephrologists at top Indian hospitals to understand how staggering the gender disparity was, they explained that the trend of women consistently outnumbering men as donors was seen across years, cities, and hospitals, with women constituting more than two-thirds of living donors. In most cases, the recipients are men.

The data collected from different hospitals was presented in striking infographics to drive home the point. Given the enduring nature of the issue, The Quint’s immersive continues to engage visitors on its Web site and ignite meaningful conversations among its readers. While the story raises awareness, it more importantly sparks critical discussions on gender equity in healthcare.

The immersive garnered more than 10,000 clicks, and many more on its social media posts, with an impressive average session duration of about two minutes. It is an example of how The Quint is innovating with data-driven visual storytelling to make its content unique and accessible, and to reach younger audiences.

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