Maharashtra: Besides awareness, hospitals need to identify potential organ donors

As per the state's organ transplant body, awareness level is just one factor of organ donation. The gap between the demand and supply will always increase and decrease. There are various other factors involved which still need to be set up.

According to the state's Regional & State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO and SOTTO) department, there is a need to increase the non-transplant organ retrieval centers (NTORCs) which will help to identify potential brain-stem death donor whose organ can be transplanted in order to save other person's life.

Speaking about the necessity of NTORCs, Dr Astrid Lobo Gajiwala, Director, ROTTO & SOTTO western region, said, "There is a need for hospitals which are geared for organ donation. The hospitals have to be registered as an NTORCs even if they are not doing any transplant. We don't have many hospitals who are registered under NTORCs. Transplant centers can collaborate with the nearby hospitals, who can serve as NTORCs. The transplant centers can help the NTORC hospitals by providing transplant coordinator and by providing a team to certify brain-stem death case. In the NTORC hospitals, we need to have trained doctors who can recognize potential brain-stem death donors."

The team is mainly focusing on to set up a guideline for organ and tissue transplantation and donation.

The hospitals need to identify the potential donor. Dr Astrid, added, "The guidelines mainly focuses on setting up a waiting list, the distribution of the organs and requirements for assisting post-transplant and the outcome. A process to access the super urgent case."