Chennai: Earlier this week, Tamil Nadu’s Chinnamanur town felt an overwhelming sense of grief mingled with pride as one of its residents, senior revenue inspector T. Vadivel, was given a funeral with full state honours after his family donated his body for organ harvesting.
This was the first such instance in the state, coming close on the heels of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s announcement on 23 September, Tamil Nadu’s Organ Donation Day, that the last rites of organ donors will be conducted with state honours.
While claiming that Tamil Nadu was the leading Indian state when it came to organ donation, Stalin told media persons, “This achievement has been made possible by the selfless sacrifices of families who come forward to donate the organs of their loved ones in a tragic situation.”
Vadivel, 43, met with an accident on 23 September when his two-wheeler collided with a cow. He sustained a severe head injury, and despite being treated at multiple hospitals, was declared brain dead the next day. With his family’s consent, Vadivel’s eyes, kidneys, liver and skin were harvested.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, Cumbum MLA N Ramakrishnan, Andipatti MLA A. Maharajan and district revenue officer R Jeyabharathi were present at Vadivel’s funeral. The health minister was later quoted in media reports as saying, “Kalaignar Karunanidhi announced that 23 September will be observed as Organ Donation Day…CM Stalin announced the funeral of the deceased whose organs are harvested for donation will henceforth be held with state honours. So, the state government paid its first honour to Vadivel.” He said the practice will be continued in all districts.
While stating that organ donors have been given district-level honours in the past, former member secretary of Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) Dr. Kanthimathi told ThePrint, “The Tamil Nadu government’s move will create more awareness among the general public about the need for organ donation.”
“Our [number of] donors have started improving since Covid,” he added.
Calling the government’s move commendable, Harish Manian, chief executive officer at Chennai-based MGM Healthcare, a private hospital known for its organ donation team, said, “The family [of the deceased] needs great courage [to take this decision] and that special moment has to be recognised.”
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Increase in transplants in India
According to the global database on donation and transplantation (GODT), in 2022, India globally recorded the third highest number of transplants of kidney, heart, lung, liver, pancreas, and small bowel. From 2013 to 2022, India saw a steady growth in total transplants — with the number rising from 4,990 to 16,041.
A dip was noticed only in 2020, during Covid, according to the report of National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Meanwhile, of the 16,041 transplants done in the country in 2022, Tamil Nadu registered the second-highest numbers with 2,245. These include 276 cadaver kidney transplants, and 142 cadaver liver transplants.
“In Tamil Nadu, the government setup is very proactive regarding organ transplant. I was with TRANSTAN for five years and I faced no hassles, no hiccups with the government,” said Dr Kanthimathi, adding that out of 36 state government hospitals, 13 also have transplant facilites.
South India leading the way
Other southern states such as Kerala, Telangana, and Karnataka also top the national charts in organ transplants. In 2022, Kerala registered 1,472 organ transplants, Telangana 1,179, and Karnataka 837.
According to the government data, in the number of deceased donor transplants during 2022, the top three spots went to Tamil Nadu (555), Telangana (524) and Karnataka (478).
What has worked in Tamil Nadu, said Dr Kanthimathi, was that anything new, in terms of protocols, guidelines and other issues, is done after consulting with the different stakeholders — doctors, and hospitals, both government and private.
Nationally, said MGM Healthcare’s Manian, three things need attention for further improvement in organ donation. “The biggest challenge today for organ donation is the logistics part of moving the organ, the utilisation of marginal organs [of donors with issues such as obesity or hypertension] and moving towards probably a DCD donation [donation after cardiac death — when the donor has suffered brain injury but does not yet meet brain death criteria so family decides to allow a natural death] over a period of time, which is done in European countries,” he said.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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