Safe organ retrieval is the cornerstone of successful organ transplant programs. There is no established training mechanism for surgeons who wish to develop skills in organ retrieval technique.
The workshop has been held annually in collaboration with Oxford University Teaching Hospitals to train surgeons in safe organ recovery from deceased donors. The Indian Society of Organ Transplantation, Liver Transplantation Society of India, and National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) have all endorsed it. The workshop has also received the BMJ Award for Medical Education for its significant contribution to safe organ retrieval.
The course was conducted on September 3 & 4, 2022 at the MS Ramaiah Advanced learning centre at Bengaluru, which is one of the country’s leading teaching anatomy laboratories. The course was carefully designed in collaboration with international leaders in organ transplantation to train aspiring transplant surgeons the tips and techniques for a safe organ recovery. A total of 34 surgeons from all over India were trained in organ recovery from deceased donors.
The first day had a series of lectures and educational videos, and the second day was exclusively lab based practical sessions. The workshop included a live webcast of a retrieval procedure on an anatomical specimen (cadaver model), which included heart, liver, and kidney retrieval on the following sites: ISOT, MOHAN Foundation, NOTTO, and transplantationliver.com.
There was an entirely separate module for renal surgeons which covered renal-only retrieval (in situations where there are no abdominal surgeons to retrieve). Renal surgeons had an opportunity to perform renal implantation in a cadaver under the guidance of dedicated renal tutors for the lab work. The workshop included a new session on recovery for pancreas for transplantation as well.
The liver /abdominal surgeons were able to participate in the SPLIT course, where liver resections could be performed on the explanted livers. The cardiac surgeons had an opportunity to perform both explant and implant the graft.
The lung retrieval module was introduced this year as part of the workshop curriculum. The participants were given a course manual.
MOHAN Foundation, supported the below five candidates from government medical colleges across the country.
Feedback (Dr. Elias Sharma, Prof & HOD, Urology, Government Medical College, Jammu, Nodal Officer, SOTTO, J&K)
The whole experience was fantastic. The content of the program was relevant, the faculty was very experienced and leaders in the field, the support staff were very helpful and polite, the audio-visual stream was flawless, the wet lab was state-of-the-art, and the cadaver dissection was almost real. Dr. Sonal coordinated the program very well, and Delson was very helpful. I have gained confidence in kidney retrieval from a deceased donor and will shortly translate it to reality. Thanks, MOHAN Foundation, for giving me the opportunity and supporting me in the last minute.
The workshop was supported by SBI Foundation.
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