A two-day conference was organised by the Network and Alliance of Transplant Coordinators (NATCO) on October 7–8, 2023, at ITC Sonar and ITC Royal Bengal, Kolkata. NATCO is a national body of transplant coordinators that is committed to the professional development of transplant coordinators and the advancement of organ and tissue donation in India. The theme of the conference was “moving towards uniformity,” signifying the need for uniform procedures across all spheres of organ and tissue donation. The conference was held under the aegis of the Indian Society of Organ Transplantation (ISOT) and supported SBI Foundation.
Several dignitaries, like Shri. Sanjay Prakash ji, MD & CEO, SBI Foundation; Dr. Sunil Shroff, Managing Trustee, MOHAN Foundation; Dr. Anil Kumar, Director, NOTTO; Dr. Anirban Bose, Nephrologist; and Mr. Mayuk Choudhury, Founder (Milaap, the crowdfunding platform), started the session with a lamp lighting ceremony followed by the unveiling of the financial compendium for dialysis patients and the Indian Transplant Newsletter (ITN Vol. 22, Issue 68) issued by MOHAN Foundation.
A wide range of topics were covered during the conference. To name a few:
• The need for uniform laws for the body donation system in India
• Transplant schemes by the national government
• Special skills involved in counselling with an emphasis on skin donations, paediatric donations, and DCD donations
• The Australian experience with increasing organ donation rates
• Swap donations and ABO-incompatible transplants
• Real-life living donation scenarios
• Organ Trafficking and International Laws Addressing Organ Trafficking
• International Transplant Games
Several national and international speakers addressed the conference. Some of the renowned international speakers were Dr. Jeremy Chapman, Director, Division of Medicine & Cancer, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, and Dr. Elmi Muller, Head of Transplantation, Groote Schuur Hospital, South Africa. Several other speakers, like Ms. Rimy Khurana, Healthcare Consultant; Mr. Harshdeep Malhotra, General Secretary, Dadhichi Deh Samiti; Dr. Sourabh Sharma, Manager, Project & Outreach, ORGAN India; Dr. Bhanu Chandra, Senior Transplant Coordinator, MOHAN Foundation; Ms. Trilly Rachel Matthew, Marengo Asia Healthcare; Dr. Pratim Sengupta, Consultant Nephrologist, Renal Transplant Physician, Bellevue Clinic, and ILS Hospital, Kolkata; Dr. Subho Banerjee, Associate Professor Nephrology, IKDRC Ahmedabad; Ms. Aprajita Varma, COO ORGAN India; and Mr. Karhun Nanda, COO Safeview Media; provided their valuable insights and highlighted the various challenges encompassing organ donation.
The Swamy Narayan Oration was delivered by Mr. Kamal Shah, Co-Founder, Nephroplus, Asia's largest dialysis provider, which has a presence in four countries and runs 325 dialysis centres. Mr. Kamal Shah spoke about his journey after being diagnosed with kidney failure and the challenges of setting up a hemodialysis centre, as well as his journey of establishing a dialysis centre across the country and providing dialysis at a subsidised rate. His journey was extremely motivational and left a profound impact on the audience. He received a standing ovation for his unwavering commitment and determination. His inspirational speech filled the room with positivity and motivated the audience to overcome adversity and find meaning in life.
Ms. Lalitha Raghuram, the Country Director, MOHAN Foundation, and Dr. Bharath Shah, Director, Nephrology and Renal Transplants, Global Hospitals, Mumbai, were the presenters at the closing ceremony. The recipient of the Dr. Amalorpavanathan Best Scientific Paper Award was Mr. Bulu Behera, Transplant Coordinator, MOHAN Foundation, Nagpur, and the best poster award was given to Ms. Laishram Monica Devi, Programme Officer, MOHAN Foundation Imphal, Manipur, and Ms. Udayini Khuman, Transplant Coordinator, MOHAN Foundation Imphal, Manipur. Additionally, Ms. Ranjini Shankar, Project Manager, MOHAN Foundation Bengaluru; Ms. Mayuri Barge, Manager, Multi-organ Transplant Programme, Multi-organ Transplant Co-ordination Department; and Ms. Lijamol Joseph, Chief Transplant Coordinator, Jeevasarthakathe, SOTTO Karnataka, were honoured with the Swamy Narayan Best Transplant Coordinator Award, presented by Shri Sanjay Prakash ji, MD & CEO of the SBI Foundation.
A total of 141 delegates from 17 states and UTs attended the conference, representing Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Odisha, Manipur, Maharashtra, Visakhapatnam, and West Bengal.
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