On 31st May 2014, The M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram, and MOHAN Foundation jointly launched India’s first Organ Protection and Organ Donation Initiative. The two-pronged programme will focus on protecting the kidneys and other organs of people with diabetes so that the demand for transplants is reduced in the country. At the same time, it would generate awareness among the masses about the need for organ donation so that more organs are available for patients in need of a transplant.
As part of this initiative , M.V. Hospital for Diabetes has started a unique project called “Target 7% initiative” where patients with diabetes are followed up through SMS and regular follow up to achieve a HBA1c of 7% which can help prevent organ failure. A pilot study of 1825 patients has yielded positive results with the message of ‘control diabetes and protect your organs’ getting across quite strongly.
MOHAN Foundation will focus on creating awareness about organ donation among the people so that the supply of organs available for transplant goes up and the waiting period to get a transplant, which currently runs into years, is reduced.
Both Dr. Vijay Viswanathan , Head and Chief Diabetologist, M.V. Hospital for Diabetes and Dr. Sunil Shroff , Managing Trustee, MOHAN Foundation stressed the need for national programmes in non-communicable diseases. Dr. Viswanathan said that the national disease control programmes have clubbed together cancer, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. He added that there is a crying need for a national diabetes control programme given that diabetes is the cause of almost 45% of chronic kidney disease. Dr. Shroff said that organ donation could help increase the supply of organs for people needing kidney transplants. Presently about 7500 kidney transplants are being done against a requirement of 2,10,000 per year. Through the deceased organ donation programme in Tamil Nadu, 850 kidneys have been donated from October 2008 to April 2014 and trained transplant coordinators from MOHAN Foundation have facilitated many of them.
Preventing lifestyle diseases like diabetes is the key to bridging the gap between the demand and supply of organs, but if one does have diabetes preventing complications and protecting one’s organs become paramount. The Organ Protection and Organ Donation Initiative will be carried out in colleges, public places and hospitals. A booth will also be set up at the Chennai Central Station.
The M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram has recently conducted a first-of-its-kind study about the direct costs associated with chronic kidney disease among type 2 diabetic patients. Their findings have been published in the May-June 2014 edition of the Indian Journal of Nephrology. Dr. Vijay Viswanathan said, “The economic consequences of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on patients have not been well documented until now. There is an acute lack of information about the costs involved for diabetic subjects with renal disease in developing nations like India. The aim of the study was to estimate the direct costs of medical care among hospitalized type 2 diabetic patients with CKD in comparison with diabetic patients without any complications.”
Key findings:
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