Gift of life: Organ donation gives life to 8, vision to 4 in Delhi
May 21, 2024
By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], May 21 : Organ donation by two patients aged 42 and 27 gave a new lease of life to eight people and vision to four at AIIMS Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Center (JPNATC ), Delhi.
"It was for the first time that 2 organ donations happened together and retrieval of organs by transplant teams from AIIMS and other parts of the city worked closely to make it happen," said JPNATC Chief Dr Kamran Farooque.
"Two routine operation theatres were stopped today to allow for retrievals to happen promptly. The organ procurement team of the trauma centre worked closely with transplant coordinators of ORBO, NOTTO and retrieval teams to make it happen," the hospital stated in a release.
AIIMS received one heart, one liver, three kidneys and four corneas. ILBS received one liver and one kidney. Army RR received one heart. A team from KIMS Hyderabad and CIMS Ahmedabad, who were allotted lungs, found it unsuitable for transplant during retrieval process and inspection. Hence, the lungs were not utilised by both patients.
According to NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization), once a patient is declared brain dead, the hospital can counsel the family for organ donation. NOTTO protocol and guidelines stipulate that the treating hospital provide all details and obtain necessary clearances for a possible organ donation. In this case, the No Objection Certificate in a Medico-Legal Case (NOC-MLC) was obtained and a request for a green corridor was made.
It is estimated that almost 5 lakh Indians face organ failure every year and only 2-3 per cent receive a life-saving transplant. As per data available with NOTTO, in 2022, 11 cadaver donations have been made with the successful retrieval of 30 organs in Delhi.
Every year, hundreds of people die in India, waiting for an organ transplant. Due to a lack of awareness and misconceptions, there is a shortage of organ donors, and with each passing year, the gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for transplants is growing wider.
Timely cadaveric organ donation can save many lives and more people would come forward and pledge their organs if they receive more information and are educated on the benefits of organ donation.
