GO to facilitate cadaver transplant

Providing information on brain dead cases mandatory for govt, private hospitals

 
At the Institute of Nephro-Urology in Victoria Hospital where the first ever cadaver kidney transplant was conducted recently, Medical Education minister Ramachandra Gowda said on Thursday that a milestone has been achieved by enforcing the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 successfully in a government hospital. 

"We will shortly come up with a GO where rules will be implemented on the lines of Tamil Nadu government in respect of brain dead cases.  Once the order is passed, all hospitals will have to intimate ZCCK about brain dead patients so that  probable cadaver transplants can be carried out," he said. The minister said that awareness on cadaver transplants also needs to be spread.  

Demand-supply gap

Institute director G K Venkatesh said cadaver transplants should be promoted in view of the huge gap in the demand and supply of kidneys as there is an increase in the number of patients awaiting renal transplants.

Explaining the first ever cadaver transplant conducted at the Institute, Dr Venkatesh said a 43-year-old who was diagnosed for chronic renal failure underwent a renal transplant where a kidney of a 45-year-old woman was retrieved after she was declared brain dead at Manipal Hospital recently.

The consent by the family of the donor gave new lease of life to six patients where two corneas, two kidneys, liver and heart valves were donated. 

ZCCK came into existence in 2005 where it does grief counselling to the family of the brain-dead and co-ordinates between hospitals involved in transplants.

The Zonal Committee, till date,  has coordinated 49 transplants from 19 donors including 34 kidneys, 12 liver and three heart transplants.

Though there are thousands suffering from renal failure, till date only 380 patients waiting for an organ transplant have registered themselves with the ZCCK. 
Log on to www.zcck.in for more details.