‘Controversies helped streamline process’

KOCHI: The controversies regarding the genuineness of brain death tests have helped a lot in introducing transparency and streamlining the process, said Dr K M Dinesan, additional professor, urology department, Kozhikode medical college.
“The controversy has temporarily slowed down the deceased donor organ transplantation and put all those associated with it in bad light,” said Dr Dinesan.
It is a fact that there are malpractices and organ trades happening. But, the controversy shattered the morale of genuine persons associated with deceased donar organ transplant, he said.
In 2018, only seven deceased organ donations, and that too by a single donor, have been conducted while the number was 60 in 2017. Despite, the government taking measures for promoting deceased organ donations, the numbers kept slipping. The figure which was 22 in 2012 went up to 88 in 2013, 156 in 2014 and 218 in 2015. In 2016, it dipped to 199 and the next it further went down to 60.
Dr Jose Chacko Periappuram, an expert in heart transplant, said new regulations involving video recording brain death certification doesn't exist in most countries. “There are accepted tests to confirm brain death all over the world and they are meant to be performed without delay to make the family comfortable with donation and rest of the spiritual ceremonies. Our new regulations on cadaveric tests are very complicated and unnecessary and only meant to satisfy the social media,” he said. “We should simplify the tests and thereby reduce the inconvenience to the donor family,” he said.