Indian Express 16.11.2010
Organ retrieval: more centres, more plans
Pritha Chatterjee Tags : university, medical college Posted: Tue Nov 16 2010, 02:10 hrs
Mumbai: So far, the three BMC medical colleges and the state-run JJ Hospital were the only ones in the city that could register brain deaths and retrieve organs. Now, so can two BMC-run peripheral hospitals, R N Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle and KB Bhabha Hospital in Bandra, part of a state effort to increase organ donation, organ retrieval and transplants.A committee was set up earlier this month to inspect peripheral hospitals for certification as brain death registration centres. “Developing infrastructure for transplant centres will be time-consuming; issuing more hospitals licences to register brain deaths and retrieve organs seemed logical,” said Dr Sujata Patwardhan, panel member and zonal transplant coordination committee ( ZTCC) secretary.
Ten other peripheral hospitals have applied, said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and part of the government panel. “A four-member panel of doctors inspects these hospitals.” Sources on the government panel said Borivali’s Bhagwati Hospital is next in line.
Dr Patwardhan said the panel is using the Tamil Nadu government’s model on cadaver transplants as a benchmark. There, transportation of an organ is allotted a maximum ten minutes, during which the traffic police block regular traffic. Dr Shingare said, “We are increasing the number of centres; for the retrieved organs to reach transplant centres on time, we need a traffic control mechanism.”
“We were the first state to start cadaver transplants, and we have had a meagre eight transplants this year, while Tamil Nadu has had 140,” Dr Patwardhan said.
The government panel and the ZTCC are trying to convince the Commissioner of Police to issue a permanent order to all police stations to issue no-objection certificates for organ transplants after brain deaths. “The Organ Transplant Act requires police personnel to do this, but awareness is abysmally low. We conducted workshops for Assistant Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of Police in Mumbai two years ago, but, after changes in staff, NOC certifications have been low,” said Dr Patwardhan.
The panel also wants postmortem centres next to all transplant rooms, so that families of donors are not harassed with formalities. Dr Patwardhan said the ZTCC has approached the Bishop of the Presbyterian Church in Mumbai to help encourage organ donation in churches. Reverend John Silas, secretary to the Bishop, said doctors had indeed met them. The ZTCC plans to meet a Muslim scholar and gurdwara representatives to promote organ donation.
