PGI ‘handholds’ RPGMC, helps it accomplish first organ transplantation

Extending his unflinching support to the cause, Prof Surjit Singh, Director PGI said, “We at PGI are always there for backend support but the medical colleges and hospitals across the region have to take the first step. We highly commend RPGMC, Tanda for taking this huge initiative. This exemplary act by the institution will give an impetus to the deceased organ donation programme and save precious lives.”

Prof Vipin Koushal, Medical Superintendent, discussed the effort of safely transporting the kidneys, “It was a race against time. A green corridor was created from PGI to Government Medical College, Tanda with the excellent collaboration of police from Chandigarh, Mohali, Ropar, Una and Kangra to ensure organs reached PGI in the shortest possible time. We whole-heartedely appreciate Shashi from Kangra Airport for his efforts to transport the blood samples for cross-matching which saved us precious time. Dr Sumit from PGI and Dr Arvind Rana from IGMC Shimla ensured it was seamless.”

Vishal, a resident of Kangra, was seriously injured in a road accident on March 10 and was taken to RPGMC, Tanda in critical condition. His condition kept deteriorating due to a serious head injury. Vishal succumbed to his injuries and was declared brain dead at RPGMC Saturday.

After Vishal was declared brain dead, Dr Rakesh Chauhan, Associate Professor, RPGMC, discussed the scenario of donating Vishal’s organs with his family members. Braving their own irreparable loss, the family displayed exemplary courage and consented to organ donation. Ankesh Kumar, Nursing Officer, was instrumental in getting consent from the family.

Following the family’s consent, Dr Chauhan got in touch with ROTTO (North) to proceed further with allocation. Considering the availability of matching recipients at PGI, ROTTO allocated the retrieved kidneys to PGI. Immediately PGI got into action and a team led Prof Ashish Sharma, Head of Renal Transplant Surgery left for RPGMC at 10.30 am on Saturday. On reaching Tanda, the PGI team started the retrieval process and harvested two kidneys and two corneas from the donor’s body.

The PGI team reached back at 9.14 pm and proceeded with the transplantation process through the night. The corneas will be transplanted to corneal blind patients at the Government Medical College in Tanda.