Surat tops in organ donation, Ahmedabad second

Diamond City Surat is earning the moniker as the Organ Donor City. Gujarat's second largest city and one of the key economic hubs in the country accounted for nearly 50% of all organs donated in the state in the last year.

Out of total 180 cadaver organ donations in Gujarat from January to December 2017, 91, i.e. more than half were from Surat, Donate Life, an organisation that works to promote organ donation, said. Ahmedabad and Bhavnagar were second and third with 28 and 26 organ donations respectively.

Surat accounted for 52 out of 106 cadaver kidney donations in 2017. Bhavnagar was second with 17 kidney donations, followed by Ahmedabad with 15. Similarly, 28 out of 62 liver donations in the state were from Surat. Out of ten heart donations in the year in the state, donors from Surat accounted for nine, and Bhavnagar for the remaining one, the organisation said.

The Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre (IKDRC), Ahmedabad, transplanted 170 kidneys, livers and pancreas in the year, of which 82 were donated from Surat.

What makes Surat's achievement all the more laudable is the fact that the city does not have a facility for an organ transplant.

"Surat tops in the whole country in organ donation among cities which are lacking in organ transplant facilities. Majority of the organs donated through us have gone to hospitals in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, and a few to other cities," Donate Life president Nilesh Mandlewala, said, appealing to people to encourage organ donation.

In the past few years, Donate Life has been involved in donation of 236 kidneys, 95 livers, six pancreas, 16 hearts, and 196 eyes. "We have been able to give new lease of life to 548 people through this activity," said Mandlewala, who was recently honoured by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

According to estimates, more than 20 lakh people in the country are suffering from kidney failure, many of them waiting for a kidney for years.