Transplantation panel covering Mangaluru, Udupi planned

A proposal to start West Zonal Coordination Committee of Transplantation, Karnataka, covering Mangaluru and Udupi has been initiated.

It has been decided to impress upon the State government on the same, A J Hospital and Research Centre Medical Director, Urologist and Transplant Surgeon Dr Prashanth Marla said.

Briefing reporters, on Saturday, he said setting up of West ZCCK, will benefit the patients from coastal belt.

The proposal is in its infancy stage. With the Zonal Coordination Committee of Transplantation, Karnataka, functioning in Bengaluru, patients from this region have to get registered in Bengaluru. “If we get a ZCCK here, more number of patients who are in need of organ transplant can register their names and avail the benefit. This will also help in creating awareness on cadaveric transplant in the coastal region.

Udupi man gets kidney

Dr Marla said the kidney of Leena Binoy (42), who was delared brain dead on Friday, has given a fresh lease of life to a  32-year-old man from Udupi, who was suffering from renal failure and was on dialysis for the last one year. With this, the first ever cadaveric kidney transplantation was done successfully, at A J Hospital and Research Centre in Mangaluru. The recipient is doing fine following the surgery.

The transplanted kidney has started functioning immediately and the recipient would be discharged probably within two weeks.

Nephrologist Dr Sushanth said only if a patient is declared brain dead can his/her organs be retrieved.

ZCCK guidelines mandate that a team of doctors including a neurosurgeon / neuro-physician, the treating doctor; a specialist and the Medical Superintendent of the hospital should decide if the patient is brain-dead or not. Twenty four hour after a head injury, brain dead is declared.

The second declaration is made after six hours of the first declaration. “In this case, after the family of Binoy wished for cadaveric organ donation, we immediately convened to the ZCCK. After necessary legal clearances of the Organ Retrieval Team of ZCCK came from Bengaluru to retrieve the organs. In the meantime, list of our patients who had registered under ZCCK was activated and we identified the recipient from the same blood group and informed him at 2 pm.

 As per the ZCCK guidelines, one kidney will be given to the hospital where it is retrieved for transplant and another for ZCCK list,” he added.

Dr Marla said there is a need for 25,000 kidney transplants every year, but on the contrary 3,500 transplants are being done per year in India. An increased awareness among people regarding organ donation will help in future for those who need organ replacement.

From January to June, under ZCCK, 40 cadaveric kidney has been transplanted. Brain-dead cases are mostly reported after road accidents, where victims are rushed to hospitals in a critical state.

If about 20 per cent of such people’s relatives wish for cadaveric organ donation, it will help significant number of patients, he added.
DH News Service