INDIA. Mumbai: The Maharashtra Medical Education Department has begun a drive to create public awareness about organ donation and transplant and encourage people to register their organ donation decisions.
The campaign started on Friday, and all of the doctors and medical students in the state took part and promised to help. In the Mumbai-based J J Government Hospital, the doctors pledged to work towards the promotion of organ donation and transplant.
Besides, nearly 49,000 people pledged to donate their organs. On the occasion, Dr Pallavi Saple, Dean, of Grant Government Medical College, and the administrator of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) said that the drive would be implemented throughout the year to encourage people to come forward and register their organ donation decisions.
Organ transplantation is the process of removing an organ from one person and placing it in another person whose organ has failed or been damaged by disease or injury. This is done through surgery.
The Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 1994 was amended in 2011. The tissues were included along with the organs. The “near relative” definition was expanded to include grandchildren and grandparents. The provision of “Retrieval Centres” and their registration for the retrieval of organs from deceased donors were made. The tissue banks were made to register, with the amendment.
While there are 570 organ transplant centres in India, Maharashtra has 72 centres for kidney transplants, 36 centres for liver transplants, and 9 centres for heart transplants. However, most of the centres are run by private organisations, and common people needing organ transplants cannot afford to bear the prohibitive cost.
As per the statistics provided by the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India, there is a wide gap between patients who need transplants and the organs that are available in India. An estimated 1.8 lakh people suffer from renal failure every year, but the number of renal transplants is only around 6000. An estimated 2 lakh patients die of liver failure or liver cancer annually in India, and about 10-15% can be saved with a timely liver transplant.
As such, about 25–30 thousand liver transplants are needed annually. However, about 1,500 transplants are carried out. Similarly, nearly 50000 persons suffer from heart failure per year. But only 10 to 15 heart transplants are performed. In the case of the cornea, about 25000 transplants are done every year, against a requirement of one lakh.
A recent study by a Mumbai-based hospital found that, of 1,000 organ transplants, 68% of live organ donations were made by women. Of these, 35% donated one of their kidneys or a part of their liver to their respective husbands, another 33% donated to their parents or siblings; and 30% donated to their child. Around 70% donated after marriage, with 2% donating to their in-laws.
Dr Sujata Patwardhan, director of the Regional and State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, said women’s emotional makeup is such that they won’t refuse to donate, especially if their spouse or children need an organ.
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