Organ transplant: Priority to B'luru patients decried

The criteria of according priority to Bengaluru-based patients in organ transplantation came in for severe criticism at a workshop for the representatives of authorisation committees from across the country here on Friday.

According to the rules framed by Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka (ZCCK), a Bengaluru resident would get additional five points in selection of patients for organ transplantation while those in other districts do not get any point at all. The patients from outside Karnataka get a minus five. The selection of patients  is based on several factors such as location of the donor and the recipient, age of the patient and the waiting period.

The issue of preference for Bengaluru-based patients was raised by a representative of a private hospital in Mangaluru.

“Though Mangaluru has been involved in organ donation, the patients registered in our hospitals are not being given the additional five points. Though several organs are being donated from Mangaluru to Bengaluru, the reciprocation is minimal,” he said. The representatives from Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra said that there was no such practice in their states.

However, senior transplant coordinator Patrica N M Viego defended the rule saying that it would save time as most transplants are conducted in Bengaluru. Another senior official from the committee said that it was being planned to scrap the norm.

ZCCK transport co-ordinator Manjula said that the donor’s family usually expects that the body be handed over at the earliest. “We have to keep up the time. To do this, we approach those from Bengaluru first,” she said.

Asked about a possibility of manipulating the address, Manjula said that should the recipient say that he was out of station when a possible donor came across, the patient would be given a maximum of six hours time. “If the patient is unable to make it, he would lose a chance,” she added.