A website for Transplant Olympics

Published in Ludhiana Newsline (Indian Express)

Express News Service
Ludhiana, August 28: With a view to provide detailed information on organ transplantation, patient education and registration in IXth All-India Transplant Games and SAARC Transplant Olympics, to be held here, the official website - www.transplantdmc.org was formally launched today by Prem Gupta, secretary, DMCH Managing Society. Among those present on the occasion were Dr Jagdeep Whig, vice-principal, DMCH, Dr Rajoo Singh Chinna, medical Superintendent, Dr B.S. Aulakh, Dr J.S Sandhu, Dr Dinesh Jain.

Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh, urologist and transplant surgeon at DMCH, who is the chief organiser of the mega event, elaborated that the website will definitely prove to be a useful tool for promoting the cause of cadaver organ donation among the masses or to those who have just had a transplant and are on the road to renewed fitness. It will also be useful for families of transplant recipients and donors where they can explore in detail about organ transplantation after care of both organ recipient and donor.

The IXth All India Transplant Games and SAARC Transplant Olympics, a two-day athletic and other sports competitions among recipients of organ transplants, will be held at Guru Nanak Dev stadium here on October 27 and 28 under the aegis of All India Transplant Games Federation, the Society for Constructive Education (NGO) and DMCH. Competitions will be open to anyone who had received a life-saving solid organ transplants like heart, liver, kidney, lung, pancreas or cornea. Bone marrow recipients would also be eligible to participate.

People from SAARC countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are expected to take part in the games. Those keen to take part in the games can get themselves registered for the event at the website.

Detailed information on registration and registration forms are available on website. Registration form can be downloaded and sent on given address within prescribed dates.

Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh further informed that this website would be used for Indian Society of Organ Transplant (ISOT) annual conference to be held in 2008. Co-organisers, Dr Dinesh Jain and Suresh K Sharma said that this website would be an asset for the organ recipients, donors and their families. Furthermore, chief organiser and co-organisers welcomed the entire life-saving organ recipients to participate in this mega event.

Link: http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=198819

Myths about organ donation should be dispelled

Published in Asian Age on 8/26/2006 9:31:23 PM

- By Dr Vatsala Trivedi

Myth 1: Doctors will not try to keep the organ donor patient alive if they know he/ she is a donor. Fact: There are two separate medical teams for the treatment and the transplant. Until all lifesaving efforts fail and death is determined, the Organ Procurement Organisation (OPO) is not notified. Also, OPO does not notify the transplant team until the family has consented to donation.

Myth 2: Organs are removed after the donors’ death. Fact: Surgeons wait till loss of bodily reflexes. The respirator is turned off for 10 minutes and a less effective air hose is put down the patient’s windpipe. ‘Brain death’ is declared if the patient doesn’t begin breathing without the machine.

Myth 3: The donor’s family is charged if one decides to donate organs. Fact: A donor’s family is not charged for donation. If a family believes it has been billed incorrectly, they should immediately contact the local OPO.

Myth 4: The wealthy and powerful have precedent over the poor for organ transplantation. Fact: The organ allocation and distribution system is blind to wealth or social status. The length of time it takes to receive a transplant is governed by many factors, including blood type, length of time on the waiting list, severity of illness and other medical criteria. The fairer medical systems allocate vital organs to those considered best able to survive the anti-rejection drugs and limitations of a transplant organ.

Myth 5: All organs of the donor’s body are removed.
Fact: As a donor you may specify what organs you want donated. Your wishes will be followed.

Myth 6: Only heart, liver and kidneys can be transplanted. Fact: The pancreas, lungs, small and large intestines, and the stomach also can be transplanted.

Human-to-human transplantation of organs has been accepted by doctors worldwide as the best line of treatment and often the only one for a wide range of fatal diseases such as End Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure). Both, a living as well as a ‘brain dead’ person can donate organs. A living donor can donate one of his kidneys and a part of the liver. After natural death only a few tissues can be donated (like cornea, bone, skin and blood vessels) whereas after brain death almost 37 different organs and tissues can be donated including critical organs such as kidneys, heart, liver and lungs.

India still lags behind in making a significant dent with regards to organ donation. Annually, while over 1,00,000 Indians suffer from End Stage Renal Disease, only a mere 3,000 are recipients of a donor kidney, of which only a small percentage are cadaver organs. In fact, the total number of patients who have received cadaver kidneys in India from 1995 to 2003 is only 5242, an abysmally small figure. The major problem now facing transplant surgery is a critical shortage of available organs.

For years, India had the reputation of being a "warehouse for kidneys" and an "organ bazaar" as poverty forced people to sell their kidneys commercially. With a view to prohibiting the sale of organs in India and to streamline organ donations and transplant activities, the government introduced The Human Organ Transplantation Act in 1994. aimed at — curtailing the kidney racket by introducing a rule that states that only a first-relative can be a living donor, to legalise the definition of "brain death", and to encourage cadaveric organ transplants.

The Act legalised the concept of ‘brain death’ for the first time in India making organ transplants from brain dead donors possible. Improved infrastructure such as ventilators and other emergency measures are necessary to improve the lives of the accident victims. Also, routine ‘brain death’ certification in neurosurgical wards could significantly increase the number of cadaver donors. Furthermore, people need to be educated about the futility of keeping brain dead victims ‘alive’ on support system at ICUs as ‘brain death’ is death and not euthanasia. The functions of the heart and the lungs can be artificially maintained by machines whereas that of brain death cannot be, till date. Hence, when due to any cause, the brain is irreparably damaged; the brain dies and the organs stop working. It is at this critical moment with the consent of relatives that the brain dead individual becomes an organ donor.

Until 1997, only four hospitals in India were undertaking cadaver transplants. However, now more hospitals are taking up the programme. According to a "Public Attitude Survey to Organ Donation", less that 50 per cent of the population was willing to consider solid organ donation, and the concept of "brain death" was new to most people surveyed. Twelve years after the Human Organ Transplantation Act has been passed, the cadaver programme in India is still in its infancy because of certain myths.

If one wishes to donate organs, the family must be informed first. The donor card forms are easily available.

Visit www.ztccmumbai.org for donor forms. Dr Vatsala Trivedi is secretary, Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), Mumbai

Link: http://www.asianage.com/main.asp?layout=2&cat1=146&cat2=147&newsid=243336

9th All India Transplant Games and SAARC Transplant Olympics

Published in Ludhiana Tribune

City to host games for people with transplanted organs

Ludhiana, August 12 2006: They haven’t hit the court or track yet and already this group of athletes has performed death-defying feats. They all carry an inner trophy — a new organ that qualifies them for the dream team in the game of life. Their ultimate trial will kick off at Guru Nanak Stadium here, the site selected for the 2006 Transplant Games, when the city will play host to 9th All India Transplant Games and SAARC Transplant Olympics being organised jointly by the All India Transplant Games Federation, the Society for Constructive Education and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).

Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh, urologist and transplant surgeon at the DMCH, who is the chief organiser of the mega event, announced at a news conference here today that the games, to be held on October 27 and 28, 2006, would be an Olympic-style event for athletes, who have received life-saving organ transplants of any type — kidney, liver, heart, lung, cornea, pancreas or bone marrow. The participating transplant athletes will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in different sports, including track and field, swimming, tennis. Organised biennially, the Transplant Games draw participants from all over the country.

According to Dr Aulakh, more than 100,000 Indians were currently suffering from ‘end stage renal disease’ per year needing organ transplant and 30 of them die each day while waiting for a donor. “The Transplant Games showcase the success of transplantation, demonstrating the life-saving power of organ donation”.

Dr Dinesh Jain, co-organiser, expressed confidence that the spirited competition by those having undergone transplants would slam home the message that every Indian should consider becoming an organ donor. Attendance at the 2006 Transplant Games was expected to surpass the participation in the earlier editions of the games if the enthusiasm witnessed among athletes, their families and friends and families of organ donors was any indication.

Dr Aulakh said the athlete participants ranged in age from two to 85 years. In addition to athletic competition, the games would host special workshops for donor families and an educational programme for professionals involved in transplantation. An ‘Awareness Walk’ would be held before the commencement of games. “We are dedicated to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.”

He remarked that donors and recipients of organs like kidney and liver were keenly looking forward to their participation in the games. “These persons have received the gift of a new life and what other better way they have than to put up an animated performance in the track and field events to spread the message of getting transplant done as also to motivate the potential donors ?”

Link: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060813/ldh3.htm

Get a gift of life from cadavers

Published in the Times of India

[ 13 Aug, 2006 0233hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

NEW DELHI: It's supposed to be the best line of treatment for many diseases. And often, the only one for fatally-ill patients suffering from renal or liver failure. Yet, in India, cadaveric organ donation is not popular.

Brain stem dead patients becoming donors is as low as 17%. Compare that with 50% in the US and 75% in Europe. This has lead to a critical shortage of organs. What not many of us know is that after natural death only a few tissues can be donated, while after a brain stem one, almost 37 organs and tissues can be given way.

"Annually, around 100 cadaver transplants take place in India. That's about .01 per million population. Italy has the highest with 35 per million people," says Sunil Shroff of Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network, Chennai (MOHAN).

"The figure is abysmally low for a country with thousands of brain stem deaths every year," says Vishwanath Billa, nephrologist and kidney transplant physician, Bombay Hospital & Medical Research Centre.

The first successful cadaver kidney transplant in India was done at KEM Hospital, Mumbai, way back in 1967. "Before convincing one family to donate, doctors had to go through some 100 failures," he says. He himself has done only three or four cadaveric transplants since ‘97 when he joined the hospital.

Pan-India studies done by MOHAN show 72% cadaver transplants are for corneas, while only 47% are for organs. In the US, in 2004, the number of cadaver donors grew by 11%. It was the largest annual increase in a decade.


In 2005, the number of kidneys transplanted from cadavers was 9,914, while those from live donors was 6,563. "Cadaveric transplants are higher there as people are more aware and willing," says A K Bhalla, secretary, Delhi Nephrology Society.

Indians, are very emotional about the dead. As I K Dhawan, former professor, general surgery, AIIMS says, "We are more attached to a dead body than a live one." Also, there's lack of awareness among doctors and patients. Even people with donor cards ultimately can't donate as families are unwilling.

In fact, families of brain stem dead patients hope they'll recover ultimately. "But there's a difference," says Billa. "A brain dead person can revive even after 20 years as his vital organs are functioning.

A brain stem, on the other hand, is a bunch of nerves connecting the brain to the spinal cord and other organs. If this is damaged, chances of recovery are nil. Organs from only these patients are used for transplanting," he says.

Experts say the Transplantation of Human Organs Act passed in 1994 stipulates two set of tests be done by neurologists six hours apart before transplanting an organ.

And most important, the patient's family has to agree. And no money can change hands. "Unfortunately, 99% families don't agree for the donation in India," says Dhawan. Until 1997, only four Indian hospitals were doing such surgeries.

Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1889160.cms

Indian Cadaveric Organ Donation Programme: A Distant Dream or an Achievable Goal?

Human-to-human transplantation of organs has been accepted by doctors worldwide as the best line of treatment and often the only one for a wide range of fatal diseases such as End Stage Renal Disease (kidney failure). Organ transplantation has been one of the greatest advances of modern science that has resulted in many patients getting a renewed lease of life. It would not be possible without organ donation. Organs can be donated by a living person, after natural death or after “brain death”. After natural death only a few tissues can be donated (like cornea, bone, skin and blood vessels) whereas after brain death almost 37 different organs and tissues can be donated including critical organs such as kidneys, heart, liver and lungs.

In the United States, in 2004, there were over 14,000 organ donors – an increase of 695 donors (7%) over 2003. During this time the number of cadaver donors grew by 11% to 7,152, the largest annual increase in deceased donors in the last 10 years. In 2005, the number of kidneys transplanted from cadavers was 9,914, while the number of patients who received transplants from living donors was 6,563. [1]

Dr AK Bhalla, Seceratary, Delhi Nephrology Society, & a Senior Consultant Nephrologist with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, opines, “As shown by the US statistics human organ donation is fast developing into a major treatment protocol. However it is yet to make any significant dent in India. A country with a population of over 1 billion people, India lags behind in the implementation of a cadaveric donation programme”. Annually, while over 100,000 Indians suffer from End Stage Renal Disease, only a mere 3,000 are recipients of a donor kidney, of which only a small percentage are cadaver organs. In fact, the total number of patients who have received cadaver kidneys in India from 1995 to 2003 is only 524[2], an abysmally small figure. The major problem now facing transplant surgery is a critical shortage of available organs.

An Act was passed by the Government in 1994 to streamline various organ donations and transplant activities in the country. For years, India had the reputation of being a “warehouse for kidneys” and an “organ bazaar” as poverty forced people to sell their kidneys commercially. With a view to prohibiting the sale of organs in India, the Government introduced, in 1994, The Human Organ Transplantation Act. The Act had the following aims in mind – to curtail the kidney racket by introducing a rule that states that only a first-relative can be a living donor, to legalise the definition of “brain death”, and to encourage cadaveric organ transplants.

According to Dr Vijayakumar, Chief Nephrologist at the Kaliappa Hospital, Chennai, “The Human Organ Transplantation Act has legalised the concept of ‘Brain Death’ for the first time in India. Since the passing of the legislation in India, it has become possible to undertake organ transplants from brain dead donors. Improved infrastructure such as ventilators and other emergency measures are necessary to improve the lives of the accident victims. Also, routine ‘Brain Death’ certification in neurosurgical wards could significantly increase the number of cadaver donors. Furthermore, relatives need to be educated about the futility of keeping brain dead accident victims ‘alive’. A good motivator is needed to encourage people to donate organs.”

Until 1997, only four hospitals in India were undertaking cadaver transplants. However, now more and more hospitals are taking up the programme. The successful implementation of this programme however hinges on the education of the masses and having more trained transplant co-ordinators. According to a “Public Attitude Survey to Organ Donation”, less that 50 per cent of the population was willing to consider solid organ donation, and the concept of “brain death” was new to most people surveyed.

12 years after the Human Organ Transplantation Act has been passed, the cadaver programme in India is still in its infancy stage and there is potentially a huge pool of brain-dead patients who could meet the demands of the country for various organs.

Dr Vishwanath Billa, Hon. Nephrologist & Kidney Transplant Physician, Bombay Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, states, “A proactive attitude towards cadaveric organ donation, counselling for relatives for organ donation in the event of brain-death, adequate hospital infrastructure, matching and distribution of the organs and co-ordination amongst hospitals will ensure that we convert the current programme to the level of Western Countries.”


[1] Source: http://www.ustransplant.org/annual_reports/current/chapter_i_AR_cd.htm

[2] Source: INOS, ZTCC