Tuesday’s donations have taken the city’s cadaver list to 16 this year — more than the 10 last year. There were 36 cadaver donations in 2009 which dipped to 20 in 2010.
Former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s prolonged illness and passing away has raised awareness about cadaver donations in the city. In the past 24 hours, there were two cadaver donations, which have given a new lease of life to six people. Tuesday’s donations have taken the city’s cadaver list to 16 this year — more than the 10 last year. There were 36 cadaver donations in 2009 which dipped to 20 in 2010.
Twenty-seven kidneys, 10 livers and two lungs have been used from the 16 cadaver donations this year. “It is good to see that cadaver donations have seen a significant increase this year. The best part is that the donations have come from different hospitals,” said Dr Rakesh Rai, liver transplant surgeon at Fortis hospital.
Four kidneys went to a patient each from PD Hinduja, LH Hiranandani, BSES and Jaslok hospitals. A liver went to Jupiter hospital while a lung was donated to Hinduja hospital for the city’s second lung transplant. One of the beneficiaries is a 45-year-old man admitted to at Jupiter hospital. The resident of Goa got the liver which was meant to be donated to Deshmukh.
Dr AS Soin, chief liver transplant surgeon at Jupiter hospital, who successfully conducted the liver surgery on the man on Wednesday, said he was suffering from end-stage liver cirrhosis and needed immediate liver transplant. “Since no one from his family could donate because of clinical reasons, he was dependant on a cadaver donation,” Dr Soin said. The surgery went on for six hours.
Mansukh Jakhriya, brother-in-law of the prospective donor to Deshmukh, said: “We took the decision to donate organs in half-an-hour on Monday after we read about Gujarat CM Narendra Modi’s request to find a cadaver donor for Deshmukh.”
“Ninety per cent of people in the waiting list die without getting an organ. India’s annual liver transplant requirement is 25,000, but we manage only about 800. Seventy per cent liver transplants are taken care of by a live donor, but 30% are dependent on cadaver donations. The more the cadaver donations, the more lives we can save,” Dr Soin said. He said Deshmukh’s death should be a wake-up call for the society and government to encourage cadaver donations.
Health experts agree. The state health department has already formed a committee to study the Tamil Nadu model. Tamil Nadu has seen a sudden increase in cadaver donations after the state made amendments to the law. “We hope Deshmukh’s death will prompt the committee to implement changes in the state on a priority basis,” a liver transplant surgeon said.
Experts said lack of awareness and social stigma are reasons why people shy away from organ donations.
Some people, however, are doing their bit to raise awareness. Professor Amar Oswal, who teaches MMK college in Bandra, said it was difficult to convince his family to donate the organs of his brain-dead sister in February. “I had a tough time convincing my mother and elder brother, but now they are happy because three lives have been saved. My sister is alive in those three people. My entire family has now pledged to donate organs and I am also motivating my friends and colleagues to do the same,” he said.
Jakhriya’s family also encouraged its community members to go in for cadaver donations.
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