Southern Indian state 'successful model' for organ donations

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) - In 1971, when a hospital in the southern state of Tamil Nadu conducted the country's first successful live kidney transplant, little did anyone know that the state would become a champion in the cause of organ donation in the years to come.

A half a century later, the state has now emerged as a model for the rest of the Indian states. Last year, the state won a government award for organ donation for the sixth consecutive year.

On the eve of Organ Donation and Transplantation week, a senior official of Tamil Nadu's Transplant Authority told Anadolu Agency that there are a number of reasons behind the state's feat, which it continues to maintain.

"It's an evolutionary process," said Dr. R. Kanthimathy, the member secretary of the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu, citing several reasons behind the success.

"The main reason is the government's will and support. Secondly, in the state, we had stalwarts here during those times who started such initiatives," she added.

Underlining that "a lot of experienced medical faculty" were serving in Tamil Nadu, Kanthimathy said this was why the state had become "a hub of organ transplant."

She noted that after the beginnings decades ago of live transplants, in which a person donates one or more of their organs while they are alive, Tamil Nadu has since added more feathers more to its cap over the years.

"Ours is one of the first states to initiate cadaver transplants in 1995 ... We were the first state to undertake many combined transplants like pancreas, kidney, liver and kidney, heart and lung, etc.," she said. "Our public hospital infrastructure is very good and with the efforts of the medical faculty, Tamil Nadu is doing well over the years."

Cadaver transplants use organs that are removed from donors right after their death.

According to Kanthimathy, the state has a long waiting list for organ donations. "We're doing a lot of heart and lung transplants Every state is mostly doing kidney and now many are doing liver transplants as well," she said. "We have a long waiting list of around 8,000 active patients."

- Public awareness

Awareness on organ donation and transplant has also been a major factor in the state's success in this area, said the top official.

"People in the state are also aware, thanks to our mass awareness programs. I think people are more sympathetic for the cause and people are more into donating," she said.

Tamil Nadu broke a Guinness World Record for largest organ donation awareness talk with 3,005 participants in 2016, Kanthimathy noted.

Official statistics show that over 5,227 organs have been transplanted from 1,444 donors in Tamil Nadu since October 2008.

Increased awareness among people is also now boosting the organ donation program in northern India, another official said.

"Over time, we have seen a perceptible difference in the attitude towards the cause and there is far more acceptance among the community," said Saryu D Madra, a media consultant at the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (North India).

Noting that though there is still "a long way to go," Madra told Anadolu Agency that "small steps are making an impact, which is gratifying."

To facilitate the country's "network among hospitals and tissue banks" on procuring and sharing organs deceased donors, India has three state organizations on the national, regional, and state levels.