Organ donation (OD) and transplantation has been one of the greatest milestones in modern science and has given a new ray of hope to patients with end – stage organ failure who have transplantation as their best, and in most cases, only treatment option. Each year, thousands of people are in need of organ transplants to live full and healthy lives but, the number of people waiting for organ transplant is much more that the number of organ donors. There are two types of organ donors, namely, living donors and deceased donors (Non – living). In India, living donors constitute the majority accounting for about 85% of all donors. Deceased donors (Non – living) are brain dead or road accident victims who have a dead brain stem and cannot breathe but, their heart and other organs can be functional with the aid of a ventilator, intravenous fluids and oxygen. These donors can give a gift of life to at least three to eight people suffering from end – stage organ damage.
Solid organ transplantation is one of the most remarkable successes in the history of medicine and has transformed lives of people affected by terminal organ failures thus improving the quality of lives. The evolution of solid organ transplantation is marked by technical advancement, pharmacologic development, broadening the donor pool and the standardization of practices related to transplantation. Renal transplantation increases patient survival over dialysis, and life saving transplants are indispensible to treat patients with liver, heart, pancreas, cornea, vascular tissues or lung irreversible diseases.
Organ donation is a noble way of giving others a new lease of life as every year innumerable lives are lost due to organ failure. There is an acute shortage of organs for transplantation in India where at least 15 patients die every day waiting for organs and a new name is added every 10 minutes to the waiting list. The much needed tool to address the shortage of organ availability is awareness and education about the importance of organ donation, and this is the only way to change this depressing scenario. It is very unfortunate that very few people in India have any idea about organ donation, or how they can potentially help in saving lives. There is also a need for communities and health professionals to become better educated about donation and transplantation for the success of deceased donation programmes.
The Transplant Unit of Ruby General Hospital, the first NRI hospital with ISO certification and NABH accreditation has successfully performed a kidney transplantation surgery on a 64 year old gentleman who has received the kidney of a 21 year old brain dead youth.
In an initiative to raise awareness about organ donation and transplantation, Ruby General Hospital had organized a Press Meet on 28th November, 2023 and was addressed by Dr. D. P. Samadder, Director Medical Affairs, distinguished Nephrologist Dr. Amritaksha Deb, eminent Uro-Surgeon & transplant surgeon (Prof). Dr. Mohan Chand Seal, family members of the organ donor and Deputy Medical Director Dr. Sudeshna Lahiri.
Ruby Hospital expresses deepest condolences for the donor family as their loss is immeasurable but, the officials expressed gratitude and appreciation for their decision of saving many lives by organ donation. We also look forward to other people taking similar decisions so that more lives can be saved in the days to come.
-Reporting by Oindrila Chatterjee