To boost organ donation in the public sector, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has asked public hospitals to submit the annual death report and also the number of organ donations that have taken place.
According to DMER, most hospitals – including the state-run JJ Hospital and civic-run BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central, LTMG Sion Hospital, Dr RN Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle and KEM Hospital in Parel – have the transplant programme, but are lagging in organ donation.
“We have learnt that there is very little organ retrieval in hospitals, following which there has been a drop in donations and many are not aware of its importance. Taking note of this, we have now asked the hospitals to submit a report within three months, along with how many patients were declared brain dead and how many organs were fit for organ retrieval,” said Dr Deelip Mhaisekar, director, DMER.
As per the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC), in Mumbai 3,325 patients are waiting for a cadaver kidney while 328 for a cadaver liver. The waitlist for small intestine is seven, for pancreas 12, heart 28 and the lungs is nine. Similarly, six patients are waiting for both heart and lung transplants and five patients for a hand.
Dr Mhaisekar further said they are also promoting skin and eye donations in government hospitals. “It is only when you counsel the patient’s relatives for possible donations, that they’ll think and donate. We aren’t witnessing many skin donations and eye donations. A dead patient’s skin and eye can be donated,” he said.
While Mumbai saw 76 organ donors in 2019, in 2020, the city witnessed 30 donations. In 2021, it was 32 and this year the city has seen 16 organ donations to date.
Health experts believe there is a need for creating awareness about organ donation. “We need to focus on improving organ donations by the deceased. Coordinated efforts are being taken by intensivists, transplant coordinators, and hospital heads,” said a doctor.
“The ZTCC is creating public awareness through programmes on radio. Moreover, an organ donation task force has been formed by the state health minister to help boost donations,” the doctor said.
