India’s first voluntary liver transplant registry that started on August 15 has picked up pace. In a span of a little over two months, it has received data of 74 transplants carried out by 11 hospitals across six States.
Initiated by the Liver Transplantation Society of India, the registry aims to collate national data of the procedures and their outcomes.
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Nearly 2,000 liver transplants are carried out in the country annually, highest in the world, yet there is no India-specific data. This leaves doctors to take help from the evolved U.S. and the U.K. registries.
“Hospitals from Delhi NCR, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have voluntarily reported their transplants to the registry. More hospitals are in various stages of signing up and by December, we hope to get the majority of liver transplantation centres on board,” Bengaluru-based transplant surgeon Sonal Asthana told
“In the U.S. and the U.K., it is mandatory to report all transplants and the outcomes. But that’s not happening here which is why there is lack of Indian data,” he said.
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The members of the LTSI had four month-long consultative discussions on various important aspects like patient confidentiality, data sharing techniques, designing a user-friendly interface, etc.
Test run
A beta version was first tested before starting the registry. Medical experts say India has a 90% survival rate in liver transplants, but it may vary from hospital to hospital and doctor to doctor.
In the West, organ transplants are highly regulated and permissions are given to hospitals and doctors based on the outcomes, rate of mortality, morbidity etc.
“This registry is completely focussed on national outcomes,” said Dr. Asthana.