Covid casts a shadow over organ donations

Hyderabad: Out of the blue, the outbreak of coronavirus has hit hard the smooth process of organ donations and their number has seen a sharp fall to half ever since the restrictions were imposed.

A large number of patients suffering from irreversible organ ailments involving heart, liver, pancreas and kidney could lead a healthy life if they have the opportunity to undergo transplant surgery.

Organ transplantation is the process of surgically transferring a donated organ into a patient with end-stage organ failure.

By donating your organs and tissue after you die, you can save or improve as many as 75 lives. Many families say that knowing their loved one helped save or improve other lives helped them cope with their loss, according to Mayo Clinic.

Considering the ethical issues surrounding live and deceased donor organ donation, a government-constituted committee has NIMS designated as the appropriate authority for cadaver transplantation in the state.

"Definitely, the Jeevandan programme of government has been severely affected due to outbreak of covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown. The number of donations has dropped to half ever since the lockdown was imposed and the unlocking of restriction brings back more issues for the staff involved in testing donors and recipients," says Dr Swarnalatha, in-charge Jeevandan.

Elaborating the present situation statistically, she said there had been only 38 to 39 donations so far this year while they were around 80 donations last year in the corresponding period. This steep decline has significantly affected the operations of Jeevandaan. Most of the hospitals are mainly dealing with only Covid-19 related cases while the selective procedures are put on hold. A major portion of paramedical staff and the paraphernalia in the hospitals has been diverted to Covid-19 management. The pandemic has also increased the risk of transmission of contagion to staff being involved in testing the donor and the recipient, she further said.

As per the official records, there were 15 to 20 donations being registered every month ever since the programme was launched in the year 2013. However, this number has dropped down to mere 9 as on September 8. While the total number of donations stood at 345 in 2019, the figure slumped to mere 102 this year. Only three initial months this year fared well, wherein 24, 34 and 21 donations were respectively made in January, February and March. The period from April to September collectively saw only 23 donations altogether with May and July got zero hand-outs.

Jeevandaan program that was launched in the year 2013 to provide cadaver to the needy patients, receives organ donations from around 48 hospitals in and around the city.

LIVE FOREVER: Pledge to donate life

Donors are usually no longer living when they donate their organs. But donations of certain organs and tissue can happen while the donor's alive. Families of organ donors feel proud that their loved ones get to live forever, by infusing fresh life into others or change lives of others for better. One can register at the NGOs mentioned below:

Mohan Foundation (http://mohanfoundation.org)

Shatayu (http://shatayu.org.in)

Gift Your organ (http://giftyourorgan.org)

Gift a Life (http://giftalife.org//)