Multi-State organ sharing on rise

City received 33 organs from different parts of the country this year

Of the 141 organs that have been transplanted to critically ill patients in Mumbai this year, 33 — including kidneys, livers, hearts and a lung — came from outside the city.

The organs were transported from various parts of Maharashtra and from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh, the joint capital for Punjab and Haryana.

Positive steps

Experts say the increasing utility of cadaver organs is a result of several positive measures taken over the last few years.

Avinash Supe, dean of KEM Hospital, said, “Multi-State organ sharing has become possible due to the presence of a Regional Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation (ROTTO). Secondly, awareness among people in smaller cities has gone up, due to which more people are willing to donate. Some parts of the State may not be able to carry out a heart transplant or a liver transplant, but the organ is utilised in a centre like Mumbai, which has the facilities to do so.”

KEM Hospital houses the ROTTO and the State Organ and Tissue Transplantation Organisation (SOTTO).

Dr. Supe said the organ-sharing network has become stronger, and the government has taken positive steps to simplify procedures by pushing agencies to come together to create green corridors and ease out air and road travel. “We are now creating SOTTOs in all States, which will further enhance the network,” he said.

The 33 organs Mumbai received from outside the city included two kidneys, nine livers, one lung, and all 21 hearts that were transplanted to patients in the city.

Kalina man gives life to 3

On Sunday, the family of Kalina resident Neil Rodrigues donated his organs after he was declared brain dead at Vile Parle’s Nanavati Hospital, where he had been admitted since December 4.

Neil, who worked in the cargo department at the airport, had complained of a severe headache and blurred vision. “We took him to Niron Hospital, where he was stabilised, and then shifted him to Nanavati,” said his wife, Grifina.

Grifina agreed to donate his organs after doctors told her on Saturday that there was no activity in Neil’s brain due to a haemorrhage. “I decided to do it so that I know he is alive somewhere. Also, so many lives would be saved,” she said.

One of Neil’s kidneys and his liver were transplanted to two patients in Wockhardt Hospital. The other kidney was transplanted to a patient in Global Hospital.