India facing a serious crisis of organ wastage: Experts

New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) On World Organ Donation Day, experts said superstition, lack of awareness and several myths are the cause of the serious problem of organ wastage in India.
World Organ Donation Day is celebrated every year on 13 August to increase awareness among people about the importance of organ donation and to dispel the myths spread about it.
The rate of organ donation from deceased bodies in India is very low and is less than one per million people in the country. In contrast, in western countries, 70-80 percent of organ donation takes place.
“Organ wastage is a serious crisis in India. Due to lack of awareness and many myths, around 2 lakh kidneys and other vital organs are wasted every year,” Dr Tanima Das Bhattacharya, Consultant – Nephrologist and Kidney Transplant at Narayana Health, Kolkata, told IANS.
Bhattacharya said the loss is further aggravated due to the lack of proper identification of brain dead cases in hospitals, leading to a significant drop in the organ donation rate in the country despite the availability of potential donors.
Despite recent directives from the Union Health Ministry to improve documentation of brain stem deaths, the rate of cadaveric organ donation remains alarmingly low, at less than one donor per million population per year, experts said.
“It is an irony that in a country as populous as India, thousands of life-saving organs are wasted every year. The gap between the available organs and the number of patients in need is huge. The wastage of viable organs due to logistical and systemic challenges is a serious issue that needs immediate attention,” Dr Rajesh Agarwal, Director, Nephrology and Kidney Transplant, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Delhi, told IANS.
Dr. Suganthi Iyer, Director-Legal & Medicine, P.D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, said that the organ wastage crisis in India can be reduced if we create awareness about organ donation after brain death among health care professionals and the general public, especially in rural areas.
He said that it is also important to increase the number of hospitals registered as non-transplant organ recovery centres. Focused training for healthcare workers and community outreach can help prevent wastage.
Citing the example of Spain, Dr Bhattacharya suggested that India should shift its focus from donors after brain death to donors after circulatory death. This, he said, has a huge potential to prevent organ wastage.
Spain's Organisation National de Transplants (ONT) model has dramatically increased organ donation rates. The ONT houses donated organs from patients facing circulatory death.
Experts also called for enhancing infrastructure to streamline organ transportation protocols and ensure that the donation of each potential donor is honoured by minimising any delays in transplantation.
Once a brain dead patient is identified, there is just 12 hours to harvest and transplant organs. This requires seamless coordination and quick action.
Dr Agarwal said, “Every time an organ is not transplanted on time, we lose the opportunity to save many lives, which makes it essential for us to strengthen our organ retrieval and transplant network.”
Dr Bhattacharya said, “To bridge the gap between organ demand and supply, India should implement a comprehensive and centralised organ donation registry. Along with amending laws, a massive awareness campaign should be launched to encourage more organ donations and ease the process of organ harvesting.”
–IANS
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