All seems not well with the country’s only full-fledged cadaveric bone bank. lack of awareness and misconceptions about such donations have led to the facility remaining almost a non-starter even after 18 years of its inception.
The dismal figures at the bone bank at the AIIMS say it all. The bank, which was set up in 1999, has received just 24 cadaver donations so far. More so, there has been no donation in the last two years.
“lack of knowledge coupled with misconceptions and religious sentiments are major problem. Even after being set up in 1999, the first bone donation was not until 2001,” Dr Rajesh Malhotra, the chief of AIIMS Trauma Centre and who had started the bank, said.
People think that taking out bones will mutilate and disfigure the body and the limbs will dangle, he said, adding “Well, it does not.” Once the bones are taken out, the body is reconstructed and shape and structure of the limbs are restored by putting wooden sticks and stuffing it up with cotton and wool. Even knee caps are made with cotton and wool.
“So, after taking out the bones, which usually takes 10 minutes, we spend the next 30 minutes on stitching up the body so that aesthetically it looks good and the dignity of the donor is maintained.
“All that the relatives of the deceased will be able to see is a stitch, like that is visible after surgery,” Malhotra explained.