Hyderabad has become hub for organ donation and transplantation, say health experts

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 9 : Hyderabad has become a hub for the organ donation and transplantation, said health experts on Sunday.
While speaking to ANI, Dr Swarna Latha, in charge of Jeevandan Program, Government of Telangana said that state government has been successfully running organ donor program 'Jeevandan' since 2012.
"Jeevandan is a deceased donor transplantation program by Government of Telangana. I had been handling this process since its inception in 2012. Transplantation is the recent advancement in modern medicine and it is the need of an Hour. At the end stage, organ failure can be treated with medication but beyond a certain point, they require organ transplantation," Dr Latha said.
"For organ transplantation, there is an act in place which has come up in 1994, with some amendments time to time. As per the act, we can have a living donation, which can be done by family member and the other one is deceased donor, where the patient is brain dead then the organs can be utilized. Organ donation can be done only by person who is brain dead, and not from any other natural death," she said.
She further said that in Telangana the organ donation rate is five donations per million population which is higher than the national average because of the structured and transparent policies of the state.
"As we look at Hyderabad, there is been an increase in organ transplantation. With health infrastructure and expertise, there are large numbers of organ transplantation going on. Patients register through online portal 'Jeevandan '. The donation rate calculated in terms of per million population, In India the average is around one donation per million population but as a state we have gone up to an average of five donations per million population. So our state has been performing very good compared to other states. As we have structured program and transparent way of organ allocation through the online portal," she added.
Dr N Bheerappa, Professor and Head of Department of Surgical Gastroenterology at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences told ANI that the state government is emphasizing on developing the skills of the surgeons and added that Hyderabad has become the hub of organs transplantation.
"After starting the Jeevandan program, the state government is maintaining the data of patients by statisticians and hospitals very well. The government is sponsoring the increase of skills in surgeons. Hyderabad has now become a hub for organ transplantation in the country" Dr Bheerappa said.
Dr Thomas Cherian, Liver Transplant surgeon, South Asian Liver Institute told ANI that at present there are more than ten liver transplant centres in Hyderabad which has helped the city to become a centre for medical treatment.
"I do believe that Hyderabad is a hub for medical treatment, and it has been for many decades. I agree that it is one of the most important centre in India for organ transplantation. In 2003 ,when there was no other centre in South India even then Hyderabad was one of the centre for liver transplant and at present Hyderabad has more than ten Liver transplant centres," he said.
Dr Thomas Cherian has previously served as the National Director for Care Group of Hospitals.