New role for TN govt medical colleges regarding organ donations!!
Posted on: 19/Aug/2022 9:47:16 AM
Our body organs play an important role in maintaining our lives and there is more need for organ donation now than in the past.
Organ donations have increased in the last 7 months in the government sector in the state of TN. To improve organ donations, more government medical colleges would function as NTORC or non-transplant organ retrieval centres.
It must be noted that there were 18 brain dead donors at government hospitals from January till August (till 17th) in 2022 and it is high when compared to the last year January to December 2021 of just 5 donors. This was according to data available with the Transplant Authority of TN or TRANSTAN.
Member secretary of TRANSTAN, R. Kanthimathi spoke about how organ donation has improved superbly now than in the past. She added that to further improve organ donation the process to make more govt medical colleges to function as organ retrieval centres has started.
Information collected is that there are 13 government medical colleges in TN that have organ transplant licences to certify brain death and perform transplants. Truth is that till now the military hospital was the only NTORC and Chengalpet Medical College Hospital conducted its fort ever organ retrieval just last week only.
The state health minister Mr. M. Subramaniam took part in 2 meetings with the deans of the government medical college hospitals in TN. The remaining medical institutions were asked to get a license to start functioning as NTORC`s.
Across the state, there are as many as 36 government based medical college hospitals that include 11 new ones. Applications have been received from these institutions to function as organ retrieval centres. This was according to the officers belonging to the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services. Teams would be visiting the government hospitals and certify tem eligible for organ retrieval process.
Eligible qualifications for hospitals to function as NTORC:
Point to be noted is that for being eligible to function as NTORCs, the government hospitals must have a minimum of 25 beds plus operation theatre and ICUs etc. This was as per the norms.
Dr. Kanthimathi explained that once the government medical college hospitals function as NTORC then organ donation would improve in Tamil Nadu. It is learnt that the organs retrieved from the donors would be offered to the government hospitals. It is true that as on date nearly 2700 odd patients are on the active waiting list in the government hospitals for kidney alone.
