South's first govt organ retrieval centre soon in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The first organ retrieval centre at a government hospital in South India will come up at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. 

The state medical education department has allocated Rs 1 crore for upgrading the existing facilities and to establish the centre. According to officials of the department, the centre will come up in the next four to six months. 

“This is a noble project by the department of medical education. The organ retrieval service started in 2022 and we stand second in the state for the number of organ donations. Starting a comprehensive organ retrieval centre in Victoria Hospital gives us an opportunity to boost the organ donation programme. The poorest of the poor will benefit from this centre as organs retrieved will be preferentially allotted to government transplant centres only on priority,” said Dr Deepak S, Medical Superintendent, Victoria Hospital, Bengaluru, who started the organ retrieval service at the trauma centre of Victoria Hospital.

“Medical science has progressed leaps and bounds in the field of organ and tissue transplants. This has enhanced cost effectiveness and utility of transplantation and has enhanced quality of life. The demand for organs is growing but it exceeds supply, presenting a huge challenge to the health care system to cater to organ seekers,” he said. 

The centre will have dedicated staff, ICU and beds. “With the new centre coming up, patients will be shifted to the dedicated centre from ICUs once they are declared brain dead and the family gives approval,” Dr Deepak said.

The medical education department will also build a helipad at Victoria Hospital to save time while transporting organs. 

“An organ retrieval centre plays a crucial role in hospitals by facilitating the procurement of organs for transplantation. It serves as a specialised unit responsible for harvesting organs from deceased donors, ensuring proper preservation and transportation. It is a purpose-built all-inclusive service centre with an ICU, operating room, lab facilities and varying degrees of investigational capabilities,” said Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education.

“Successful retrievals can happen only when we have adequate infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities under one roof, and with standard SOPs in place. Identification of potential donors, and the process of conversion into safe organ donation requires family counselling, high-end ICU care and legal formalities. Victoria Hospital, with Trauma & Emergency Care Centre is one of the largest hospitals in South India with the Institute of Gastro Enterology and Organ Transplant, Institute of Nepro Urology, Regional Institute of Ophthalmology at Minto Hospital and a Skin Bank.

An organ retrieval centre in the hospital campus will have a huge impact on the transplant procedures undertaken in these centres. It makes it more meaningful to have an exclusive organ retrieval centre which will cater to poor patients,” the minister said.