Organ donations plummet in Tamil Nadu in 4 years

CHENNAI: Organ donations have come down steadily in Tamil Nadu over the last four years and worsened during the pandemic, but the state continues to make best use of the organs it has received as donations, said state health secretary J Radhakrishnan at a function organised to honour donor families and medical teams involved in transplant surgeries.
Health minister Ma Subramanian gave away awards to senior transplant surgeons, nurses and counsellors in government and private hospitals. From about 185 donations in 2016, the number of donations came down to 127 in 2019 and 55 in 2020, according to data published by TRANSTAN, a state registry that networks with hospitals and registries across the state. "In the last five years, there has been an increase in the number of people heart, lungs and pancreas being utilised. In case hearts can't be used, doctors harvest valves," said director of medical services Dr S Gurunathan.
For instance, the data from MOHAN Foundation (sourced from Tamil Nadu Network of Organ Sharing) showed that the state has received at least 22 donations this year. It also received organs from other states. The state has used 19 hearts, more than 26 lungs, 22 livers and 38 kidneys. "No other state has utilised so many organs," he said. Transplants are done free of cost under the CM's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme at government and private hospitals.