The second Organ Procurement and Transplantation Course (OPAT) 2018 was conducted on March 30^th and 31^st, 2018 by the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic (HPB) Surgery & Multiorgan Transplantation, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (PSGIMSR) in Coimbatore in association with the Indian Society of Organ Transplantation (ISOT), MOHAN Foundation and Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN). This was an ISOT approved hands-on training course for liver and kidney procurement on a live porcine model. In addition, the participants had undergone the Dutch Transplant Society and European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT) approved online course on organ procurement and back benching.16 participants attended OPAT 2018.Dr. Sumana Navin, Course Director and Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi, MIS & Programme Manager, MOHAN Foundation were on the faculty for OPAT 2018 and also observed the organ procurement in the Animal Labs.

On behalf of PSGIMSR, Dr. Swaminathan S, Consultant HPB Surgery & Multi-organ Transplantation and Dr.B. Joseph John, Consultant, HPB Surgery & Liver Transplantation welcomed the faculty and participants. The workshop began with didactic sessions to prepare the participants for the hands-on work in the Animal Labs in the afternoon. Dr. Anand Bharathan, Consultant Surgeon, HPB Surgery, Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, Coimbatore spoke on ‘General Principles of Organ Retrieval – How to prepare for it.’ He emphasised that the most important person was the organ donor and the most important priority was to maximise the gift (utilisation of organs). He outlined a clear step-by-step approach to achieve this.The subsequent sessions dealt with the details of the retrieval of various organs and gave the participants plenty of practical tips. Dr. S. Vivekanandan, Consultant HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, KMCH, Coimbatore explained ‘Multi-Organ Retrieval – the Surgical Techniques’and ‘Liver Retrieval and Back Bench.’Dr. N. Sezhian, Consultant Urologist & Kidney Transplantation, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai spoke on ‘Kidney Retrieval and Back Bench.’ He said it was important to look out for anatomical variations and avoid procurement injury.

International faculty member Dr. Gabriel Oniscu, Consultant, Multi-organ Transplantation, Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, UK spoke about ‘Pancreas Retrieval and Back Bench’ as well as ‘Novel Approaches to Organ Preservation and Perfusion.’He pointed out that the pancreas was the most injured organ in retrieval. Assessment was difficult and it had the highest discard rates. After his presentations, he shared with the participants that a new ESOT online course for training in transplantation would soon be available(for more information - esottransplantlive.org).

Dr. Paari Vijayaragavan, Consultant HPB Surgery and Multi-organ Transplantation, MIOT Hospital, Chennai made a presentation on ‘Complex Situations in Organ Retrieval.’ Some of the scenarios that he presented were elderly donors (unstable), atherosclerotic artery (aorta), major aortic bleed during retrieval, hepatic artery anomalies etc. Dr. A. Murali, Professor of Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases, PSGIMSR, illustrated the ‘Role of carbapenem in post-liver transplant infections’ through a case study.

To give the participants a comprehensive picture of the deceased organ donation and transplantation process in India, three topics were covered on the second day after another hands-on sessionat the Animal Labs. Dr. Murali T, Associate Professor, Intensive Care, PSGIMSR, spoke about optimisation of a potential organ donor.Dr. Sumana Navin gave an overview of the legal framework in India and the qualifications of a surgeon for kidney transplantation, liver and other abdominal organs, cardiac, pulmonary, cardio-pulmonary transplantation mentioned therein. Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi made a presentation on coordinating deceased organ donation in a hospital and approaching a family.

The moderators for the sessions were Prof. Ramalingam M, Consultant Urologist and Kidney Transplantation, Coimbatore, Dr. Rajasekhar Perumalla, Consultant HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Kauvery Hospitals, Chennai, Dr. N. Anand Vijai, Consultant, HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, GEM Hospitals, Coimbatore, Ms. Rathi R, Transplant Coordinator and Clinical Nurse Specialist, PSGIMSR, Dr. Gabriel Oniscu, Dr. Swaminathan S, Dr. B. Joseph John, Dr.Vivekanandan S, and Dr. Paari Vijayaragavan.

The feedback from the participants was that the multi-organ retrieval on the live porcine model was an excellent learning experience. They also received a book on ‘Abdominal Organ Retrieval and Transplantation Bench Surgery’ edited by Dr. Gabriel Oniscu.

At the “OPAT 2018” Award ceremony and felicitation, Dr. C. Vijaya Baskar, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr. S. P. Velumani, Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development, Government of Tamil Nadu, and Dr. P. Balaji, Member Secretary, TRANSTAN felicitated the families of deceased donors from Coimbatore. They commended the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery & Multiorgan Transplantation, PSGIMSR on their notable work in the field.