624 lives saved with cadaveric donations in 25 years

Naina Mishra

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Chandigarh, August 13

With 265 cadaver organ donations, 624 lives have been saved at the PGI here in the past 25 years.

The cadaveric donation comprises organs (heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and pancreas) removed from brain dead people.

The Department of Hospital Administration, PGI, in collaboration with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) and Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO, North), has started two-day National Deceased Organ Donation Workshop at Bhargava Auditorium to mark World Organ Donation Day. It witnessed participation by more than 400 delegates from the medical fraternity and civil society across the region today. Seven donor families were honoured for their exemplary gesture of organ donation amid their own tragedy. Their gesture has given a second lease of life to 42 patients of organ failure and restored the sight of 24 corneal blind patients through organ and tissue transplant at the PGI.

The first heart transplant was held by Prof GD Puri, Prof D Behera, Prof Ajay Bahl and Prof Shyam Thingam in August, 2013. Around seven hearts were transplanted at the PGI and 20 hearts shared (removed at the PGI and shifted to other hospitals) with other institutions. A lung was transplanted in July, 2017, and three lungs were shared with other institutions, the farthest being the MGM Healthcare, Chennai. As many as 65 livers were transplanted and 30 livers shared with other institutions.

The PGI is the only public sector hospital across India conducting donations after death of cardiac patients and has so far made 17 such donations. Cornea transplantation was started at the institute in 1963. Around 8,791 donations and 6,407 transplants have been carried out since 1996.

The high burden of organ-failure cases, poor availability of potential donors, lack of proper space for counselling, limited ICU bed availability?, overburdened hospital staff/testing labs and a limited number of transplant coordinators have been some of the issues and challenges in the functioning of ROTTO.

Expressing his gratitude and paying rich tributes to the donor families, Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGI, who was the guest of honour at the programme, said, “The PGI owes its distinct place in organ transplant to all donor families. It was not possible to reach this far without the gritty decisions and selfless gestures of these donor families. There is no metric and no parameter to measure their magnanimous gift of life. It is hugely gratifying that the donor families trusted the PGI for their noblest wish to save others’ lives and the institute could live up to that trust.”