Cadaveric organ donation in Karnataka is catching up fast with this year’s donations so far crossing last year’s overall number. While 70 donations were recorded in 2021, 72 have been recorded in the first six months of 2022.
These 72 donors include a nine-month-old male and a 97-year-old male. Both donors are from Bengaluru. In the last two months alone (since May 13), 27 donations have been recorded and several of these have been back-to-back on a single day.
Rise after COVID
Organ donations that had almost come to a halt during the pandemic saw a steady rise this year in the first quarter, especially after organ donations by celebrities. Subsequently, the pace picked up further. Jeevasarthakathe, the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), which is the nodal agency that facilitates cadaver organ donations, recorded 70 cadaveric donations in 2021, retrieving 284 organs and tissues (including corneas and heart valves). In 2020, 35 donations were recorded, retrieving 167 organs and tissues. Likewise, in 2019 as many as 105 cadaveric donations were facilitated through Jeevasarthakathe (wherein 511 organs and tissues were retrieved).
Lijamol Joseph, Jeevasarthakathe Chief Transplant Coordinator, said awareness on organ donations has increased. “Basically we reached out to the public more often to reinstate the message of organ donation. During the first two years of the pandemic, everything was virtual and we were not sure if the message was accepted. But, now normal communication has resumed and we do not miss any opportunity to create awareness,” she said.
Pointing out that extensive awareness was created through various forms of media, Ms. Joseph said: “All live green corridor feeds, and donations are being posted on the Twitter handles of the Health Department and Health Minister. Regular training programmes are being conducted for ICU staff, intensivists, and neuro teams.”
Also, two government institutions in Bengaluru - NIMHANS and Trauma and Emergency Care Centre (TECC) on Victoria Hospital campus - have recently been recognised as Non-Transplant Organ Retrieval centres. This has helped identify potential donors in the government hospitals where most road traffic accident cases and other medico-legal cases are admitted.
Among O-group patients
Although there has been a steady rise in the number of donations, the number of patients in need of organ transplantation is also increasing. According to official data, as of July 12, while 5,542 patients are waiting for various single-organ transplants in Karnataka (including 4,304 for kidneys and 1,113 for liver), 66 are waiting for multi-organ transplants. Doctors said the demand-supply gap in organ transplantation in the State is only widening by the day.
The demand is high among patients with O blood group. Of the total 5,542 patients in the wait list of single organ requirement, as many as 2,265 and patients with O blood group. This is followed by those with B group with as many as 1,620 waiting for organs. The lowest requirement is among those with AB blood group with 345 enrolled with SOTTO.
The trend is similar in the wait list for multi-organ transplants. Of the total 66 in the list, 28 patients are those with O blood group. The least requirement is again among those with AB group with only five patients from this group requiring multi-organ transplants.
