265 deceased donors gave new lease of life to 624 patients over 25 yrs: PGI

The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has given a new lease of life to 624 persons by transplanting the organs of 265 deceased donors over the last 25 years

The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has given a new lease of life to 624 persons by transplanting the organs of 265 deceased donors over the last 25 years.

PGIMER has transplanted 503 kidneys, 65 livers, seven hearts, one lung, and 35 pancreases over the last 25 years. (Representative Image/HT File)

PGIMER has transplanted 503 kidneys, 65 livers, seven hearts, one lung, and 35 pancreases over the last 25 years. It has also transplanted 6,407 corneas. Apart from donations from the dead, PGIMER also transplants organs donated by patients’ blood relatives.

PGIMER medical superintendent and Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) nodal officer Dr Vipin Koushal said, “With increased public awareness, more people are donating organs. We had started transplantations from deceased persons in 1996. Donors as young as 68 hours and as old as 75 years old have given a new lease of life to ailing patients. In case of non-availability of matching recipients at PGIMER, the ROTTO in collaboration with National Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), also created 55 green corridors over the last seven years.”

“Cases of organ failure, non-availability of potential donors, lack of counselling, legal issues and non-objection certificates from the police, limited intensive care unit (ICU) beds, lack of awareness, and myths surrounding organ donations are some of the challenges faced during organ donation,” Koushal said.

‘85% survival rate’

“Organ transplant is a complex procedure and it takes time to find a matching recipient, due to which many patients waiting for kidneys, heart, liver and pancreas may not survive. Organ transplantation has an 85% survival rate,” Dr Koushal said.

On World Organ Donation day, the PGIMER hospital administration in collaboration with NOTTO and ROTTO inaugurated a two-day national deceased organ donation workshop on Saturday. Around 400 delegates from the medical fraternity and civil society across the region participated in the inaugural event.

The institute also honoured 17 families that had donated the organs of their kith and kin. National Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) director Dr Rajneesh Sahai said, “The spirit behind observing the day is to disseminate correct information to promote organ donation.”