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5,480 patients waiting for organ transplantation at PGIMER
Over 2,700 patients are waiting for kidney transplant & corneas at PGIMER, 40 for pancreas and 20 for liver
Over 5,480 patients are in the waiting list for organ transplantation at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER).
As per estimated figures shared by the institute, as many as 2,726 patients suffering from renal failure (kidney failure) are waiting for transplantation. Besides, around 2,700 patients are waiting for cornea, 40 for pancreas and 20 for liver transplantations.
Since survival rate of patients after heart and lungs failure is extremely less, there are no patients on the waiting list for these organs.
As per the institute authorities, the gap between number of organ recipients and donors is increasing due to growing cases of life style diseases and organ failures in the past few years. Also, only one in six families agree to donate organs of a deceased relative, PGIMER officials said.
Dr Vipin Koushal, medical superintendent of PGIMER and nodal officer of Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO, PGIMER), said, “With increase in public awareness, people are now joining and supporting the cause of donating organs and saving lives. So far, doctors at PGIMER have transplanted 4,469 kidneys, of which 3,970 were donated by live donors (blood relatives of the patient), while 499 were donated by family members of a deceased person. Besides, the institute has also transplanted 6,375 corneas, 65 livers, 35 pancreas, seven hearts and one lung.”
“At PGI, a number of patients come with renal failure and some of them have a good survival rate on dialysis while many require organ transplants. 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 and people must understand its value and pledge to donate organs,” said Dr Virendra Singh, head of hepatology department, PGIMER.
“In the past six months, around 30 patients required liver transplant at PGI, but 15 (50%) of them died while waiting,” Dr Singh said, adding that raising awareness about organ donation through various programmes and counselling is the key to saving lives.
As per an estimate, over 35% kidney patients die every year while waiting for donations.
PGIMER records 18,000 organ donation pledges in 5 years
Through direct counselling and awareness camps, over 18,000 people have pledged to donate organs at PGIMER in the past five years.
“People can reach out to the institute to pledge to donate organs post death. For that, they can fill in the form on the official website of PGI or ROTTO. They can also visit the institute and submit the form manually, ” added Dr Koushal.
Over
--------Due to low number of families giving consent for organ donations, over 2726 patients are waiting for kidney transplant, 2700 for corneas, 40 for pancreas and 20 for liver
