CHENNAI: The city is fast catching up with certain developed countries in giving a new lease of life to people waiting for an organ transplant. The rate of organ donation in Chennai in 2013 stands at 14 per million population, which is much higher than the Tamil Nadu State average of 1.5 per million donation rate. Chennai’s outstanding statistic is now on par with nations like Germany and Australia, which posted organ donation rates of 14.7 and 15.1 per million population in the year 2012, the highest being Croatia and Spain posting rates of 36.5 and 35.3 per million respectively.
However, the dismal national average of 0.25 per million population is far behind the United States and other European countries.
The good showing of the city’s donation rates however promises a quicker improvement rate in the future.
Announcing the results of a study on organ shortage and overview of organ donation and Transplantation in India, recently, Dr Sunil Shroff, Prof and Head – Urology and Transplantation, Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital, and managing trustee Mohan Foundation, said that the deceased organ donation rate in Tamil Nadu has increased dramatically from 33 in 2008 to 131 in 2013. From October 2008 to April 2014, the number of donors in TN stood at 473. A total of 385 deceased donor transplantation in 2013 is the highest in the nation, three times higher than second placed Andhra Pradesh with 113 deceased donor transplantations, he added.
Dr Shroff informed that the Transplant Coordination and Counseling Services of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in collaboration with the Mohan Foundation has resulted in 101 donors among 153 brain dead persons, including 69 multi organ donations between February 2010 and February 2014.
Dr Vijay Viswanathan, Head and Chief Diabetologist, M V Hospital for Diabetes, announced the launch of India’s first Organ Protection and Donation Initiative by the MV Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram, and the Mohan Foundation. The two-pronged programme will focus on protecting the kidneys and other organs of people with diabetes so that the demand for transplants is reduced in the country.
Only nine States — Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, New Delhi, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh have participated in deceased organ transplantation in 2013 and Dr Vishwanathan hoped the initiative would create awareness on organ donation in the whole country.