Two organ donations in 24 Hours propel city closer to last year’s record
Mumbai witnessed two organ donations in 24 hours, bringing it closer to last year's cadaver donation mark of 47. Efforts are being made to encourage donations in public hospitals and to expand donations to include bone, tendons, and skin.
Mumbai: The city witnessed two organ donations within 24 hours, bringing it closer to last year’s cadaver donation mark of 47.
The first donation occurred on November 30, where the wife of a 46-year-old Mulund resident consented to donate her husband’s liver and kidneys after he was declared brain dead at Fortis Hospital, Mulund. The entrepreneur had sustained a brain injury from a fall. “We tried to revive him, but he succumbed to his injuries. His wife was very forthcoming when we approached her about organ donation,” said a doctor from the hospital. The liver and one kidney were transplanted into two end-stage patients at the same hospital, while the other kidney was transplanted into an end-stage kidney patient at another private hospital in Mumbai.
On November 29, the family of a 52-year-old brain-dead patient donated her liver and kidneys at Apollo Hospital, Navi Mumbai.
With these recent donations, Mumbai has recorded a total of 44 cadaver donations in the current year, including three from pediatric patients. After a decline in organ donations during the Covid-19 pandemic, the city witnessed a resurgence in 2022, reaching 47 cadaver organ donations, compared to 31 in 2021. The numbers were 76 in 2019 and 30 in 2020.
Dr. Bharat Shah, the general secretary of the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC), highlighted efforts to encourage the donation of bone, tendons, and skin. The city also experienced three bone donations this year after a three-year gap.
A donated bone is used for patients with bone deficiency or in bone reconstruction procedures. Bone and tissue donations help individuals with orthopaedic and neurological conditions that cause bone death and degradation.
ZTCC has also formed sub-committees, including intensivists, neurologists, and neurosurgeons, to collaborate and enhance organ donation in the city. The focus now is on increasing cadaver donations in public hospitals.
Dr. Shah stated, “We have achieved the pre-Covid pandemic numbers in cadaver donation. We are now concentrating on increasing cadaver donations in public hospitals.”