Donating organs with renewed zeal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The organ donation milieu which has seen a static response over the past two years, is witnessing a slight increase in donations, infusing the much-needed zeal into it. At a time when the number of organ seekers is increasing, the lack in the conversion of brain-death cases into organ donation over the past two years was a major concern for the experts working in this field. 

The need to have more organ donation is acute. The negative publicity that the cause has suffered through social media and the reluctance of hospitals in declaring brain dead cases is considered to be the reason for the static response.

"We have to increase the number of donations. The donations have almost turned static. There are live donations but there has been a drastic dip in the cadaver donation," says Dr Thomas Mathew, state convenor, Kerala Network for Organ Sharing(KNOS) and principal of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.

"Steps are being taken at the governmental level to revert the present crisis and there is some positive response. The decision to donate organs is taken by relatives, and it is this aspect which needs to be changed. More people should come forward to certify brain death and donate," he says.

The number of organ seekers who have registered at the KNOS is very high, doctors say. "The need of organ donors is enormous. It cannot be neutralised by live donors," says Dr Noble Gracious, associate professor in Nephrology, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram.

"Around 1,800 people have registered and are waiting for kidney transplantation while 200 have registered seeking liver transplantation. More than 25,000 patients are undergoing dialysis in the state which points to the acute need to have organ donation," he says. "With the rise in the smear campaign against organ donation, we have observed that hospitals are reluctant to declare brain deaths," he says.

Earlier, there was a widespread negative campaign against organ donation citing the doctors deliberately declare patients brain dead in order to promote organ donation. Kerala's Deceased Donor Organ Transplantation Programme was launched in 2012. In total, 787 major organs were donated during the time period of 2012 to 2019.

"The frequency of cases being declared as brain dead hasn't seen any dip. The translation of brain dead cases to organ donation is not taking place. But there is a sign of recovery. Last year, the first organ donation happened in April. Now we have four successful organ donations even as the year is just starting. So it is a good sign," says Vinod Kumar S L, transplant coordinator.