Haryana Guv urges people to pledge for organ donation

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 3

Haryana Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya today urged the people to volunteer to donate blood and pledge for organ donation as he emphasised that there cannot be anything more altruistic than giving someone a second chance to live.

The Governor was the chief guest at an infotainment session and pledging camp organised by the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), PGIMER, in association with Chander Shekhar Azad Charitable Trust and Saan Foundation at Aggarwal Bhawan, Sector 16, Panchkula, on the third day of the week-long awareness campaign on organ donation.

Evincing a keen interest, the Governor lauded the initiatives undertaken by the ROTTO, PGIMER, and assured his full support for the promotion of the noble cause.

Prof AK Gupta, Medical Superintendent, PGIMER, said: “The presence and keen interest of the Governor sends an encouraging message as it will help building the momentum for the community to support the cause and be instrumental in saving precious lives.”

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released a grant of Rs 31.10 lakh to Pt BD Sharma PG Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, and Rs 38 lakh to the Government Medical College, Jammu, for setting up of state organ and tissue transplant organisations (SOTTO).

The PGIMER has been designated as the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) for the Northern Region under the aegis of the National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP), Directorate General, Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The PGI, in its capacity as ROTTO, will coordinate with hospitals across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh and will monitor organ transplantation, maintain a data bank of donors across the northern India and be a part of the national network for procurement and distribution of organs and tissue.

Shortage of organs

There is a wide gap between patients who need transplants and the organs that are available in the country. Nearly 1.8 lakh persons suffer from renal failure every year. However, the number of renal transplants done is nearly 6,000 only. Nearly 2 lakh patients die of liver failure or liver cancer annually. However, 10-15 per cent of them can be saved with a timely liver transplant. Hence, nearly 25,000-30,000 liver transplants are needed annually, but only about 1,500 are being performed. Similarly, about 50,000 persons suffer from heart failures annually, but nearly 10 to 15 heart transplants are performed every year. In case of cornea, about 25,000 transplants are done every year against a requirement of 1 lakh.