Mumbai: At least 93 persons have got a second life after receiving organs from Brain Stem Death (BSD) in the last seven months. The numbers assume significance as it shows citizens are now opting for organ donation.
Health experts, however, feel there needs to be more awareness among patients and their relatives. They said, many still believe their gods disapprove of organ donation.
According to the data from the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) from January 1 to July 16, the hospitals across the state have retrieved 149 kidneys, 83 liver, 10 lungs, 24 hearts and three pancreas from the BSD patients.
A senior official said, the number of deceased donor liver transplants have exceeded that of living donor liver transplants since three consecutive years in Maharashtra.
The Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) data states, for the first time in 2016, the state recorded 110 deceased donor liver transplants and 80 living donor liver transplants.
This trend continued in 2017 when 111 deceased and 96 living donor liver transplants were carried out and in 2018, there were 125 and 96 transplants.
Till July 16 this year, 93 deceased and 82 living donor transplants were carried out. Dr SK Mathur, chairperson of ROTTO’s liver sub-committee and president of the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC) Mumbai, said, this shows the cadaver organ donations are rising over the past few years and more organs from deceased donors are being made available.
“We also expect this sensitivity is shown by patients and relatives for kidney transplants,” he said. Along with that, the government authorities have also recorded 128 skin donors, 79 cornea donors along with two bone donors in the state.
Senior official from SOTTO said, everyday, several patients are declared brain dead due to accidents or diseases.
“If the family members of each of these patients agree to donate organs, several more lives can be saved. It is the only way to meet the huge gap between the demand and supply of organs,” said official.
