GUWAHATI, Jan 22 � Shortage of donors and organs continues to be a major challenge in the treatment of patients with terminal organ failure. In India, the scarcity of organs is more acute compared to countries such as Spain and Mexico. Worryingly in states like Assam, organ transplantation is still at a nascent stage.
More transplantation could save lives of scores of people, some of whom are in the prime of their lives when they require an organ, said eminent doctor Sarbeswar Sahariah, vice chair of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad, while delivering a lecture on �Organ Transplantation: Present Indian Scenario�. His speech was the fourth and final oration organised by the Gauhati Medical College Teachers� Association as part of the golden jubilee celebration of Gauhati Medical College.
He said that organs like kidneys, liver, heart, intestine, and pancreas can be transplanted to give a new lease of life to individuals. This has been witnessed in many developed nations, in which organ donation has become a norm.
According to Dr Sahariah, an alumnus of GMC, who did further studies in Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Chandigarh, around five lakh patients in the country develop renal failure each year, and their lives can be sustained by long-term dialysis or kidney transplant. Unfortunately, more than 90 per cent of them would die due to lack of proper treatment, as options are not readily available or are costly.
He appreciated the move of the Assam Government to help patients needing kidney transplants. The eminent doctor was of the view that the unique scheme to provide free immunosuppressive drugs to all post-kidney transplant patients apart from reimbursing Rs 1 lakh for cost of surgery was laudable. �Such schemes�should be emulated by other states as well,� he remarked.
Underlining the importance of cadaver organ donation, Dr Sahariah pointed out that India's organ donation rate of 0.08 PMP (Per Million Population) compared poorly with countries like Spain and Mexico in which it stood at around 40 PMP.
�The responsibility to create public awareness about acceptance of brain death, and usefulness of organ donation has to be shared both by the Government as well as society,� he noted.
Dr Sahariah's address stated that NGOs and media have to play key roles to create awareness to encourage more people to come forward for organ donation after death.
Earlier, Dr Basanta Baishya, president of the teachers association, in his welcome address mentioned the path of progress of the Gauhati Medical College.
