At 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, the route leading from Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital to Apollo Hospital on Greams Road was cleared to transport a heart and lung from a brain dead patient for transplantation.
Ramesh, a 22-year-old young man, was a migrant worker from Andhra Pradesh. He had come to Chennai with wife Kalarani in search of work. Kalarani was only 17 and they had married a year back. They found work at a con struction site on a daily wage and set up home on a pavement. On the night of July 12, 2010, it was pouring and the couple was looking for shelter. They decided to spend the night at a partially constructed building. As they entered the structure, a heavy piece of masonry fell on Ramesh's head.
Almost three years after the 2011 amendment to the Transplantation of Organs Act, 1994, which mandated various kinds of registries to track the organ transplantation system, the idea of a national registry is yet to take off. The rules to implement the amendments were framed in March this year.
Frenchwoman Marie Therese Hampart Zoumain and husband Henri were visiting their son, Sebestien, who works for a Gurgaon MNC and lives in Delhi. The family travelled extensively, visiting places like Jaipur and Agra. Little did anyone know that Marie's India trip would take such a turn. This March 13, an unconscious Marie was wheeled into Max Hospital.
Bringing our readers heart-warming stories of a role-model state and bravehearts who stand out for their grit & spirit of giving.
Sushant Kaushal, a bright young man of 20, died in a car crash on November 22, 2012. His family , although shattered, readily agreed to donate his organs after doctors and counsellors from Sir Gangaram Hospital approached them.
A large-scale awareness programme, central organ sharing registry, improved infrastructure within public hospitals for transplantation, is what will push up organ donation in the Capital. This has been stated in a survey report that was released recently in the city. The survey was commissioned in September 2013 by the Parashar Foundation, a non-government organisation based in Delhi, in partnership with the MOHAN Foundation.
Thirty-five years ago many patients used to buy blood because of a shortage of voluntary donors. Today, nearly all the blood used across India is received as replacement blood from relatives and as altruistic donations.
More than half a million Indians are estimated to be in dire need of an organ transplant-kidney, liver, heart, pancreas and so on. Yet, less than a thousand transplants are performed each year. The rest usually die waiting for an organ as there aren't enough donors.
Multi-organ Harvesting Aid Network (MOHAN) Foundation has organised its first-ever four-day transplant coordinators’ training programme at Aayush Hospitals in the city Monday. Addressing the participants, MOHAN Foundation country director Lalitha Raghuram said that organ transplantation is one of the greatest advancements of modern technology, which results in patients getting renewed lease of life.
