In a move aimed at saving donated organs from being wasted due to delay in the transportation process, the Union Health Ministry is in talks with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for roping in airlines for speedy transportation..
A senior official from the Union Health Ministry said that the talks are still in the nascent stage as huge cost during transportation is involved in the process. "In light of the time sensitivity of organ transplantation, every second counts. To cut down wastage of organs and save precious lives, we have approached the DGCA. We are not sure about the private airlines but hope that our own Air India might come forward to do the noble job," he said.
When asked who will foot the bill for transportation, the official refused to give the details saying that the matter is still being discussed with concerned authorities.
In developed countries, flight transportation is very common. As, mostly organ availability and requirement is far away, air transportation is the most reliable way to ensure the organ and patient make it to where they need to be when time is critical. Presently, in India, aerial transport is available in the private sector which comes with a huge cost.
In India, organ donation has always been on a lower side and around 5 lakh people die every year waiting for organs. Lack of knowledge, awareness, infrastructure are some of the reasons behind shortage of organ donation here, said the official.
Nearly 2.2 lakh people await kidney transplant, of which around 15,000 end up receiving a kidney. At a given point of time, about 1 lakh people die of liver diseases in India and only 1,000 get liver transplant. A cadaver or deceased donor can save up to 9 lives, but despite this organ donation is a neglected issue. The official said that at times due to delay in transport, organs also get wasted.
For instance, a kidney can be kept up to 24 hours; for livers up to 10 to 15 hours; lungs can be preserved for only six hours once they are harvested and for the heart the maximum time is four to six hours, with most hearts being transplanted within four hours. In the example of the heart, clearly the donor of the organ when harvested must be physically nearer the organ recipient than for other organs.
"Transporting organs within time is most challenging. If the transportation is through roads, a 'green corridor' is created with the help of the police. However, wherever vehicle route is not possible, aerial corridor is best to reach out the patient in need of the organ," the official added.