Constable’s organ donation sets transplant arena abuzz

Potential donors register with Jeevandan programme, many others keen to undergo transplant at govt. hospitals

HYDERABAD, TELANGANA, 15/09/2021: A live heart, the donor of which was a police constable 34-year-old M Veerababu who was brain dead after meeting with an accident, was taken from Yashoda Hospitals to NIMS for transplantation in Hyderabad on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. Photo: NAGARA GOPAL / The Hindu

Organ donation by the family of a brain-dead constable last week has motivated several people to come forward and do the same.

The heart harvested from 34-year-old constable N. Veerababu, who was grievously injured in an accident, was transplanted in a young painter at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Panjagutta, on September 15. The patient is currently under observation.

Since heart transplantation at private hospitals costs upwards of ₹25 lakh, the kin of patients in distress have been contacting doctors to find out the procedure for registering and undergoing transplantation at NIMS or any government hospital. A few others, on the other hand, have expressed interest in donating their organs, informed in-charge of Jeevandan cadaver transplantation programme, G. Swarnalatha.

The donors have registered with Jeevandan programme, and interested recipients directed to the cardiology department of the hospital.

Unit head at NIMS cardiothoracic surgery department, Amaresh Rao Malempati said they select recipients who have less than six months to live and meet other criteria like no serious infection or disease. Each case is individually assessed to know if heart transplantation is required, and if there are other methods to address the issue.

The doctor stressed that patients should not lose hope as life can be prolonged even without heart transplantation. Better medication and evolved medical procedures can often help.

With a surge in organ demand, however, it is expected that the number of donations this year will exceed 2019’s figures. Donations dropped after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March last year. The subsequent lockdowns restricted movement of people on roads, bringing down road accident rate and a corresponding drop in number of brain-dead patients from whom organs are harvested.

After the Jeevandan programme was inaugurated in 2013, the highest of 573 organs were donated in 2018, followed by 469 in 2019. Last year, the number fell by almost half, to 257.

This year, between January 1 and September 15, a total of 379 organs have been harvested. The numbers are expected to improve by the year-end.