A National Conclave to augment Organ Donation through Non-Transplant Organ Retrieval Centers (NTORC) was conducted at Indian Institute of Management (IIM Bangalore) on September 2 & 3, 2023. The session began with a lamp lighting ceremony by Dr. Rishikesha Krishnan, Dr. Chakko Jacob, Dr. Rajani M, Dr. Sudershan Ballal, and Dr. Prathima Murthy.
On 2nd September 2023, several dignitaries like Dr. Sudershan Ballal (Chairman- Manipal Hospital) discussed about various challenges faced by NTORCs & also discussed the need to aggressively pursue digital technology & streamline administrative procedures. Dr. Prathima Murthy (Director-NIMHANS) highlighted the challenges of the first deceased organ donation at NIMHANS & also appreciated Ms. Ranjini Shankar from MOHAN Foundation for her unwavering commitment to make this organ donation happen. Dr. Rajani M (Joint Director Health & Family welfare Jeevasarthakathe SOTTO) discussed the successful organ donation program in Spain & compared it to the Indian model. Dr. Sunil Shroff (Founder & Managing Trustee, MOHAN Foundation) discussed the mismatched equity & access in Organ Donation and challenges in setting up NTORCs. The film “Aye Zindagi” was screened on the same day.
On 3rd September 2023, Ms. Sujatha Suryamoorthi (Associate Director, Courses, MOHAN Foundation) started the session by defining NTORCs and briefly defined its legalities. Ms. Pallavi Kumar (Executive Director, MOHAN Foundation) highlighted the important aspects for a successful deceased donation program. Dr. Hemal Kanvinde (Quality Assurance Officer, MOHAN Foundation) conducted the organ donation pathway activity that showed the various steps involved in making a deceased donation happen.
Dr. Noble Gracious (Executive Director Kerala State Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (KNOS) discussed in detail the challenges faced by NTORCs in Kerala. Dr Deepali Tewari (Additional Chief Medical Superintendent, Western Railways, Vadodara) discussed the lack of infrastructure of NTORCs in Vadodara and also spoke about the need to expedite the administrative process in NTORCs. Dr. Rajani M (Joint Director Health & Family welfare Jeevasarthakate SOTTO) discussed the various NTORCs in Karnataka and highlighted the successes & common reasons for families rejecting the plea for organ donation. Dr. Sriganesh Kamat conducted a panel discussion on the challenges faced within hospitals where several transplant coordinators from NTORCs participated in the discussions. Shalini Nalwad (Chairperson, ICATT Foundation) provided a detailed insight into organ airlift. Mrs. Lalitha Raghuram presented on grief counselling & emphasised that public education along with grief counselling are the key ingredients for a successful organ donation program.
The participants were then segregated into various groups which covered several essential topics related to NTORCs and were given the task of coming up with recommendations for improving the scope of the NTORC. Each group presented on these topics. Around 100 delegates and faculty attended the conclave.
Participants for the conclave were from Districts hospitals of Chikkaballpura, Haveri, Hubbli, Kalburgi, Hasan, Kodagu, Koppal, Kolara, Mallegowda, Mysuru, Mangalore and Raichur. Apart from these doctors from 11 hospitals from Bengaluru, Baroda, Chennai and Trivandrum, representatives from ROTTO North also participated in the deliberations.
ICATT – the air transport agency gave valuable inputs to the meeting. Other partners to the meeting were – SOTTO Karnataka, Transplant Help the Poor Foundation, Nephrology Association of Karnataka, IIM Bangalore and MOHAN Foundation. The conclave was conducted under the aegis of NOTTO. MOHAN foundation puts on record its gratitude to Dr Haritha Saranga, Prof at IIM Bangalore and her team for organising the conclave.
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