On January 19, 2024, The National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) invited Dr. Sunil Shroff, Founder and Managing Trustee of the MOHAN Foundation, and Ms. Pallavi Kumar, Executive Director of the MOHAN Foundation (MF), NCR, to speak at the Symposium on Legal and Ethical Aspects of Organ Donation and Transplantation, organised at Silver Oak, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
Ms. Simran Anand, Programme Officer, and Ms. Sanya Santosh, Programme Officer, MF NCR, also attended the symposium.
The chief guest of the event was Prof. Dr. Atul Goel, Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India. The symposium was attended by medical professionals from various hospitals across India.
Ms. Pallavi addressed the topic of deceased organ donations by foreign nationals in India with the help of a PowerPoint presentation:
• Consent: Consent for donation is always easier where the deceased has already expressed a desire to donate the organs.
• Complexities faced during organ donation by foreign nationals in India:
• Next-of-kin may not be available in the country where consent is required.
• Language barriers
• Deceased body to be returned to country of origin
• Complex logistics
• Suggested Guidelines:
• Certify brain stem death.
• Document family’s consent
• Inform the concerned embassy
• Inform local police
• Inform the appropriate organ donation authority.
• Post-mortem formalities in medical legal cases: ensure the presence of embassy staff in the absence of family members.
• Assist the family with funeral arrangements and the transfer of the body.
• Letter of appreciation to family/record case history
• Ensure the paperwork is in English for understanding and interpretation.
• Transfer of the body to the home country
Dr Sunil Shroff spoke on Non Transplant Organ Retrieval Centres (NTORC):
• Simplifying registration process
• Problem and possible solutions
• Empowerment
He was also part of the panel discussion on deceased donations from foreigners in India: challenges and possible solutions.
More than 200 people from NOTTO, ROTTO’s (Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization) and SOTTO’s (State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization) across India attended the symposium.
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