The 172-year-old JJ Hospital in Byculla made its first contribution to the organ donation programme on Sunday, two decades after the state's first cadaveric organ transplant was successfully carried at Sion Hospital. Doctors welcomed the participation from the state's biggest hospital, calling it a need of the hour given that 90% of the city's cadaver donations and transplants take place in the private sector.
Senthil Ramu, 24, rides his motorbike to work every day but doesn't always wear a helmet. "My office is just 10 minutes away. I forget my helmet at times, but I haven't been caught so far," he says.
In December, Abhishek Jogdandar, 21, died in a motorbike accident. While his family was willing to donate all his organs, calls to Chennai and Delhi failed to find a match, and his heart and lungs could not be donated. In June, two recipient families in Mumbai paid Rs 14.5 lakh for a charter plane to transfer a heart and lungs from Chandigarh in time.
Formed in 2012, the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC) has evolved in these six years. The number of cadaveric organ donations has risen, especially in last one year, thanks to the awareness drives undertaken by the ZTCC and the Mohan Foundation.
MOHAN Foundation, under the aegis of the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), is holding its eighth one-month transplant coordinators training programme in the city. The event will end on Saturday.
With India known to have the highest burden of tuberculosis (TB) cases, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), immense pressure is being laid on the country to eliminate the disease soon. On the other hand, the number of kidney transplanted patients has grown significantly in the country. The link between the two is one that many are unaware of.
Every year, more than 500 patients in Maharashtra with end-stage liver ailments enlist themselves with the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC) for transplantations. But sadly, hardly 50 cadaver to liver transplantations take place every year, thus making the waiting list even longer, with patients often succumbing to the wait.
A Ukrainian woman became the first foreign national to undergo a life-saving heart transplant at a city hospital on Monday. The 27-year-old mother had registered with Fortis Hospital in Mulund two days ago.
Getting the consent of family members for the donation of their deceased kins organs has been a challenge for years. However, when individuals possess a donor card, it makes matters simpler.
Despite the fact that the country has come so far in terms of organ donations over the past few years, religious beliefs continue to serve as a barrier, preventing a large population from coming forward for donation.
