Though COVID-19 has overshadowed nearly every aspect of life, the need to raise awareness about organ donation remains as valid as ever, say medical professionals in the city.
Speaking to The Hindu ahead of World Organ Donation Day (August 13), physicians said that the positive aspects related to the process should be reiterated as often as possible.
“Awareness of organ donation has definitely increased in Tiruchi. It is a voluntary act that can benefit many people; how we put this across to the public is also important. Telling the family of the patient that he or she is brain dead, but their organs could be harvested for the benefit of others, is a very delicate matter. It has to be conveyed with sensitivity,” said Senthilkumar Nallusamy, chief cardiologist, Rana Hospital.
Dr. Senthilkumar, who holds a 2017 Guinness world record for conducting a 50-minute lecture on organ donation awareness with the largest attendance of 1,000 people in Tiruchi, says: “There are many myths and fears related to organ donation that we need to overcome. Organs retrieved from one brain dead donor can save up to 10 lives. The commonest cause of brain death is road traffic accidents, which is one of the situations when organ donation can be considered, but only with the consent of the relatives,” he said. In 2020, Tamil Nadu was adjudged the best in organ donation in the country for the sixth consecutive year, with 8,245 organs harvested and distributed to eligible recipients from 1,392 donors. Despite this, there is a mismatch between the demand and supply for organs. “The paucity of live organ donors has turned the focus on deceased organ donation,” said C. Alagappan, urologist and transplant surgeon at Apollo Speciality Hospitals, Tiruchi.
“We have to raise awareness about organ donation at a young age, and make it a subject in the educational curriculum,” said Dr. Alagappan.
Medical advancements have also made it easier for live organ donation. In the case of kidney transplants, for example, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, which is a minimally invasive procedure, has replaced the earlier method. “In this routine procedure, we retrieve the kidney with a 4-5 centimeter incision, (instead of 60 centimeters earlier), and discharge the patient by the second or third day. Quick recovery is reassuring for the donor, and motivates others to consider donation,” said Dr. Alagappan.
Enquiries about eye donation have gone up in recent years, said Shibu Varkey, ophthalmic surgeon and regional medical director at Vasan Eye Care. “Eye donation can be done only after the demise of a person. People who pledge their eyes must ensure that they convey their intention to do so, to their family members or in legal form, so that there are no conflicts later on,” he said. Besides corneal ulcers (caused by fungal infections or eye injuries), keratoconus (a condition where the cornea thins and gradually bulges outward into a cone shape) requires transplant surgery, said Dr. Varkey. “Paediatric keratoplasty cases are slowly increasing in my practice, perhaps due to the excessive time spent on electronic devices. Unlike earlier, one cornea can be used to help three people. We still need to increase awareness of eye donation, because corneal blindness is a huge problem in our country,” he said.
While organ donation has assumed precedence in public opinion, concrete steps are still needed to make it a reality for people in remote areas, said M. A. Aleem, former vice-principal, head of department and professor of Neurology at KAPV Government College. “An air ambulance for people living in interior places would help them to get medical attention faster and also streamline the organ retrieval process. Harvested organs should be available to everyone irrespective of caste, creed or financial status,” Dr. Aleem said.
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