Hyderabad hosted the 3 day (Nov 29 to Dec 1, 2024) annual conference of the Liver Transplant Society of India (LTSI). On November 29, 2024, MOHAN Foundation and the Network and Alliance of Transplant Coordinators (NATCO) hosted a one-day workshop for transplant coordinators who work with liver transplant teams. It was a subset of the main conference. The Novotel Convention Centre in Hyderabad served as the venue.

Advancing Skills in Liver Transplantation was the workshop's title. The program was attended by about 82 coordinators and faculty.  Transplant coordinators from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and others attended the workshop. 

Topics covered during the workshop were:

1.       Evaluation of a liver donor (living, deceased and extended criteria)

2.       Post liver transplant protocols

3.       Establishing Liver transplant system in Tier II cities in India

4.       International organ allocation policies

5.       National state based liver allocation practices

6.       Amplifying Living donor voices  

7.       Case study discussion – coordination in liver transplantation

Dr James Neuberger spoke (virtual session) of the different systems of organ allocation for wed in England, USA and Europe. The underlying principle being that no organs should be lost and there is equitable distribution of the scarce resource.

Many transplant coordinators spoke of the systems followed in their state and in their hospitals regarding donor evaluation, post-transplant follow up and liver allocation policies.  There was a lively discussion on the process and paperwork for international patients.  Dr. Sonal Asthana moderated a session on Living Donor Advocacy – with senior colleagues, transplant coordinator and a living donor and a recipient expressing their views.

Dr Gomathy Narasimhan recounted three case studies of difficult donations and asked the delegates to act out the scenarios. It was a very interesting session and many coordinators enjoyed the cases.

During the inauguration Drs. Ravi Mohanka and Abhideep Choudhury urged the transplant coordinators to improve their skills and write articles to showcase their work. Dr. Rela, the LTSI president, pledged to make transplant coordinators a specific category inside the organization. The conference's organizing secretary, Dr. C H Madhusudhan, noted that the room was packed and that the organizers were pleased to assist the transplant coordinators in their work.

Mrs. Lalitha Raghuram, Dr. Bhanu Chandra, Dr. Bhanu Prakash, Dr. Amit Joshi, Mrs. Arati Gokhale, Ms. Jaya Jairam, Ms. Pallavi Kumar, and Dr. Hemal Kanvinde from the NATCO and MOHAN Foundation provided excellent assistance for the workshop.

The workshop's agenda can be seen here: https://www.natco.org.in/liver_workshop2024_programme.html