There is a need to bring about more awareness among people about voluntary organ donation even though there has been a steady progress in the last decade, said Jeevandan in-charge Swarnalatha on Friday.
“Telangana State has been doing fairly well in this matter, with five out of 10 lakh population volunteering to donate organs, but the waiting list for heart, lung and liver transplant is pretty long,” she reminded.
Dr. Swarnalatha was addressing a function organised at Yashoda Hospitals on the occasion of “National Donate Life” month and explained how organ donation can give a new lease of life to multiple people even after death as 5-10 different people may benefit from a single cadaveric donation.
About 10 heart and lung transplant recipients shared their experiences about the whole process and current quality of life. Almost all of them had terminal lung or heart failure (many due to COVID) with severe breathlessness requiring oxygen and were barely able to perform daily activities, but got a second lease of life as they were able to walk, exercise and have full functional quality of life.
They thanked their ‘unknown donors’ and doctors Jnanesh Thacker, Apar Jindal and the multidisciplinary team. Hospital director Pavan Gorukanti spoke about advanced healthcare particularly lung and liver transplants. The hospital had conducted 25 heart and lung transplants, and 150 liver transplants with among the best survivals despite the challenges of the pandemic.
