Command Hospital, Chandimandir, shows the way in organ donation

Chandigarh, March 11

An organ donation awareness programme was organised at Command Hospital, Chandimandir, in coordination with the PGIMER, Chandigarh, to spread the message of empathy towards saving the life of critically ill patients.

Brigadier AK Sharma, head, transplant programme, Command Hospital, delivered a talk on creating awareness, myths and realities associated with organ donation. Dr Parul Gupta, transplant coordinator, PGIMER, spoke on motivating the masses on organ donation, creating green corridors.

It was followed by an organ donation pledge by all present. Naik Hoshiyar Singh, who donated the kidney, liver and cornea of his late father, and Havildar Gurwinder Singh, who donated the kidney, liver and cornea of his deceased 15-year-old daughter, were felicitated by Lt Gen Manoj Kumar Katiyar, GOC-in-C, Western Command.

Lt Gen Katiyar stressed the need for the noble act of organ donation and organ pledging. Command Hospital holds the distinction of being the only service hospital after Army Research and Referral Hospital to have regularly carried out multi-organ retrievals from deceased donors and having these successfully transplanted into recipients with end-stage disease, providing them a new lease of life. It has ensured seamless coordination with the IAF for timely transportation of harvested organs and successfully created green corridors for organ transport by land and air. — TNS

28 kidneys retrieved since 2014

Since the inception of Organ Retrieval Centre at Command Hospital in 2014, the hospital has successfully retrieved 28 kidneys, 20 livers and 28 corneas for recipient hospitals