Civic authorities have planned to appoint a dedicated transplant co-ordinator in its KEM and Sion hospitals among others.
A day after the first patient to undergo a heart transplant in 47 years was discharged, experts say that while awareness on organ donation is increasing, to sustain the programme, all government and private hospitals need to come together and identify donors. As transplant is the only cure for patients with organ failure, health experts feel that brain deaths should be recognised and donations promoted.
Civic authorities have planned to appoint a dedicated transplant co-ordinator in its KEM and Sion hospitals among others.
Over the last few weeks, three people from various parts of the state have registered themselves for heart transplant in different hospitals.
Dr Suhasini Nagda, director of medical education and major hospitals, BMC, said, "In a meeting with senior officials last Saturday, we decided on a strategy for reporting brain deaths. We are also planning to appoint one dedicated transplant co-ordinator each in all major hospitals, including KEM and Sion. There is a need to boost the transplantation programme, and we are taking measures for the same."
"It's a known fact that government hospitals have less brain-death cases compared to private hospitals. It is high time government medical colleges and hospitals started actively reporting brain-dead patients. The government needs to make them accountable. If the state really wants its cadaver organ donation programme to be a success, it must adopt the model of the Tamil Nadu government," said Dr Jatin Kothari, nephrologist, Hinduja hospital, and joint secretary, ZTCC.
Agreeing with Kothari, secretary of the Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, Dr Suhas Pingle said, "It's true that to run the heart transplant programme in the state we have to create awareness among people about cadaver donation. The government should make more efforts and also help the NGOs working in this field."
All patients waiting for an organ have to be registered with the Zonal Transplantation Co-ordination Committee (ZTCC). According to the committee, the main aim is to promote cadaver and organ donation and transplantation. It also endeavours to make sure that the organs are distributed fairly, in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the government.
As per the ZTCC, the city has recorded 28 cadaver donations till August this year, most from private hospitals. Last year, 41 cadaver donations were recorded. In 2014, KEM hospital was the only public hospital in the city to have contributed to the cadaver donation count.
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