By PRABEER SIKDAR
DEHRADUN, 22 Apr 2009:
If the spurt of kidney diseases among Doonites appears ominous, what is more unfortunate is the fact that, at the moment, there is no mechanism for kidney transplantation in any of the ‘super’ specialty hospitals in the state.
Ironically, despite the fact that there may be donors who would not mind donating their vital organs like heart, kidney, liver, etc., after their death, there has not been any initiative by the state on this front. The same is also true for NGOs, who are conspicuous by their absence in the field of organ transplantation.
Possibilities
According to Dr Lav Kush Pandey, an Anesthetist at the CMI Hospital, who has earlier worked at St Stephen’s Hospital, Delhi, as an anesthesia expert with an organ transplantation team, transplantation of the kidney is feasible in Doon.
“There are a good number of Urologists in Doon, as also eye specialists. But the problem is that of infrastructure,” Pandey told Garhwal Post, adding that, post death, kidneys removed from a deceased person at the current stage of scientific advancement, could be preserved for 4-6 hours.
“Apart from kidneys, the liver and heart of a deceased person can also be preserved for the same duration."
Problems
Apart from major hospitals like St Stephen’s, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Apollo, Hinduja, AIIMS, etc., unfortunately, despite the advancements in science, organ transplantation is not being carried out, lamented Pandey.
“There are various reasons for this. First, it is a case of demand and supply, i.e., a person who wants a kidney transplant never knows when he would get a donor. Similarly, doctors, even if they are capable of transplanting the organs, remain worried about legal complexities if the donor happens to be a stranger to the recipient,” he explained.
What is more shocking is that despite having a Central Act on organ transplantation (The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994) very few states viz. Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have adopted this Act.
Among other provisions, if adopted in Uttarakhand, the Act would empower doctors to extract human organs from willing donors or after permission from relatives of brain dead patients after being cleared by ‘Authorisation Committees’.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, Dr DC Dhyani, an Officer at DG (Health), pointed out that, at the moment, no organ transplantation ‘is taking place in the state’.
“Even an eye bank at Jolly Grant Hospital, which was inaugurated a year ago to collect corneas from donors, is also in a non-functional state,” he said, acknowledging that the ‘Organ Transplantation Act’ had not adopted by the Uttarakhand Assembly, so far’.
108 & Organ Transplantation
In the event a good health infrastructure is put in place for organ transplantation in the future, 108 Emergency Services may play an important role.
“Presently, 108 has 9 ambulances in the District,” said an EMRI staffer
.However, organ transplantation may not be easy. “For organ transplantation to take off, there should be mass awareness among the people about the need for donating organs after death. There are also other issues like legal complexities, availability of requisite infrastructure, expert doctors, a coordination agency looking after demand and supply, collection and preservation of the organs,” said Pandey.
What the law says
To look into various complexities arising out of organ donation by humans for humans, the Parliament enacted The Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994. It has been reportedly adopted by states like Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra and all the Union Territories. Under the Act, states can also adopt this Act by passing a resolution in the State Assembly under Article 252 of the Constitution of India.
If agreed to by an Authorisation Committee (to be appointed by the Central/ State governments), to whom the donor/ recipient would submit applications, removal and transplantation of human organs can take place.
What Hinduism says
“One should not worry about death, as the soul can never be slain. Rather it sheds one body at death and takes on a new one, in birth after birth”-- Bhagavad Gita.
Loosely interpreted, there is no harm if one donates body organs after death as the soul remains immortal.
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