Cadaver donations pick up steadily, but doctors say problems still aplenty

BENGALURU: Karnataka has seen a rise in cadaver donations in the past six years, up from 11 in 2011 to 70 in 2016.The state has seen 57 donations so far this year.
While the number of donations is steadily growing, city's leading doctors say the challenges are plenty. At a panel discussion on `creating awareness, building infrastructure and improving the regulations around organ donation' organized by TOI, in association with Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, here on Friday they concurred that publicprivate partnership, creating more awareness, more organ retrieval centres and simplifying the process for the donors was the need of the hour.
“The number of cadaver donations has gone up, but small hiccups remain. The process of handing over the body to the donor's family can be eased,“ said Dr Sonal Asthana, multi-organ transplant surgeon at Aster CMI Hospital. “In India, there is no deficit of surgical skills. Of the 7,000 liver transplants in the country so far, only 550 have been done in government hospitals. There is a need to enhance public-private participation,“ he said.
Dr Ram Narain, executive director of Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, said that spreading awareness was not just the responsibility of NGOs, but all stakeholders including hospitals, government and the public. “There is need for a national network to abolish the trust deficit faced in organ donation,“ he said.
“Nearly 95% of the needy patients are not getting organs owing to shortage of organ retrieval centres. Institutes such as NIMHANS, which gets the highest number of accident and potential braindead cases, should be declared organ retrieval centre,“ Manipal Hospitals chairman Dr H Sudarshan Ballal said, Every stakeholder in the process of organ donation is crucial. Even a lapse by one can lead to a loss of life, the doctors said. “More the stakeholders communicate, the better. A major role in organ transplant is played by grief counsellors who discuss the options of organ donation with the family of a potential braindead patient.Earlier, there used to be single organ transplants, but now we see more multi-organ transplants. We are also in the process of updating the Jeevasarthakate website so that those waiting for an organ get regular updates,“ said Dr Kishore Phadke, convener, Jeevasarthakathe, the nodal body for organ donations in Karnataka.
The government has started training a team of 10 doctors in each district in organ donation.“Each hospital can employ a person to fill in forms related to donation legalities,“ said Dr NS Nagesh, HoD, surgical gastroenterology, liver transplant, BMCRI.