CHENNAI: Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar inaugurated the first tissue bank in the Southern region at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital on Wednesday. The centre which was set up at the cost of Rs 1 crore is supported and funded by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) of the Union Health Ministry. Skin, bones, tendons and ligaments, cardiac valves and other tissues can be preserved here.
Vijaya Baskar said the NOTTO promised funds to set up two more tissue banks in Tamil Nadu, at Tirunelveli and Madurai, each at a cost of `1 crore. “This is a proud moment for TN,” he said.
He also said that people should come forward to donate skin just like eyes, as it would save help patients who suffer burn injuries and often succumb to infection. The skin can be preserved for five years. The Health Minister said the State had so far harvested 6,097 organs from 1,082 donors since 2008, the highest in the country. Also, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of licensed organ transplant centres.
Dr P Vasanthamani, Dean of the Kilpauk Medical College, said, “Though the centre was officially inaugurated, it will take another three weeks for it to become fully functional. First, skin will be harvested and preserved in the bank. Then, step by step other tissues will be preserved,” the dean added.
Later Dr Vimal Bhandarai, Director of NOTTO, held a meeting with regional conveners from TN, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.