The National Conference on Organ Donation and Transplantation was organised by the PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research & PSG Hospitals, Coimbatore in association with TRANSTAN (Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu) and IATC (Indian Association for Transplant Coordinators) on July 30 & 31, 2022. The two-day conference themed ‘Understanding Transplant Coordination - Little More, Much Better’ focused on various aspects including medical, legal and transplant coordination.

Ms. Sujatha Suriyamoorthi, Associate Director - Courses, MOHAN Foundation was invited as faculty for a panel discussion on ‘Authorisation committee and Competent Authority - Case based discussion’. The panelists for the session included

• Mr. Haider Ali Khan, Care hospitals, Hyderabad
• Mr. Ciju Nair, Apollo Hospitals, Mumbai
• Ms. Trilly Rachel Mathew, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon
• Mr. Sagayam Francis, MIOT International, Chennai

The session included an overview, composition and functions of Authorisation committee and Competent Authority (the committees that approve different types of living donor transplants - related / spousal / unrelated).

The following concerns were addressed during the panel discussion.  

• Verifying genuineness of relevant documents - Whose responsibility and How
• Can the unrelated transplant appeals be rejected on the grounds of income disparity between the prospective donor and recipient?
• No objection certificate from the next of kin of the prospective donor in living donation - What is the legal framework
• Salient court judgments on living donor transplants