Shortfilm, ‘Special Gift’, released in Manipal

Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman of Manipal Hospitals and nephrologist, speaking on the occasion of the release of a shortfilm, ‘Special Gift’, in Manipal on Wednesday.

A shortfilm titled “Special Gift” to communicate that kidney transplant can be done across blood groups was released by Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman of Manipal Hospitals and a nephrologist, here on Wednesday.

The film, produced by Kasturba Hospital, is about a father donating kidney to his son despite blood groups not complementing each other. But a transplant is now possible across blood groups through an advanced procedure.

The film is an initiative by the hospital to create awareness of this particular aspect of kidney transplant for the benefit of society. The hospital will come up with more such shortfilms to create awareness on various health issues and clear misconceptions, if any.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sudarshan Ballal said, “Such initiatives to inform the people is important as it conveys the message that kidney transplantation is the best treatment option for kidney failure as studies show 95% success rates for kidney transplantations.”

H.S. Ballal, Pro Chancellor, Manipal University, released the CD copies of the shortfilm for free public circulation and viewing. The shortfilm could be downloaded/viewed at: https://www. facebook.com/manipal. university.

Poornima Baliga, Pro Vice-Chancellor, launched the “Kasturba Hospital Antibiotic Policy App” on the occasion. The app was available for download on Play Store for android phones. The app is a product of a six-month research and application by the students of Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) — Bikramjeet Singh, Kritika M. and Vishtasp Meherhomji of IT batch, under the supervision of Hospital Infection Control Department.

Treatment of infections was becoming a challenge due to the evolution of antibiotic resistance and lack of any usage guidelines. This inappropriate use of antibiotics over years, unfortunately, gave rise to antibiotic resistance, which was a serious problem.

Using the “Kasturba Hospital Antibiotic Policy App”, a treating doctor can go through the local sensitivity of the antibiotics and consult the antibiotic policy by pressing quick-search buttons at the Point-of-Care before writing prescriptions, while treating any infection.

M. Dayananda, Medical Superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, Padmaraj Hegde, Deputy Medical Superintendent, Arun Chawla Head, Department of Urology, Ravindra Prabhu, Head, Department of Nephrology, were present.