India is facing an acute shortage of kidney donors. According to statistics, nearly two lakh people need new kidneys in the country every year but only 10,000 patients get donors. Around 1,000 kidney transplants take place in the national Capital and the adjoining areas in a year.
Top nephrologists in leading hospitals for kidney transplant — AIIMS, Safdarjung, Medanta, Ganga Ram, Bl Kapoor, Max hospitals in Delhi, Alchemist in Gurgaon and JP Hospital Noida — said that “cadaver donation” is the best alternative to alleviate the situation. Cadaver organ donors in India are only in the hundreds although the number has doubled from 196 in 2012 to 411 in 2014.
Highlighted the problem in Parliament in December in 2015, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare had aired similar view. “There is a huge gap between demand and supply of human organs for transplant… the Government accords very high priority for increasing donation of cadaver organs to bridge the gap between the demand for and supply of organs and save the lives of a large number of persons suffering from end-stage organ failure,” he had said.
Dr Sanjeev Gulati, Director of Nephrology at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj, and vice-president of the Indian Society of Organ Transplant, said, “Cadaver donation is a credible option to curtail organ trafficking in hospitals. Many times, a person dies due to brain death. But kin of deceased refuse to give their consent for organ donation. People should understand that with this good gesture, somebody’s life can be saved.”
When patients have limited options, either they prefer to go overseas for transplant if they can afford to, or they are forced to opt for touts, said the doctor.
Talking about kidney transplants in Fortis Hospital, Dr Gulalti said, “Out of 750 normal kidney transplants in the hospital in the past eight years, only one cadaver transplant was done.” Considering that accident deaths are high in India, Dr Gulati emphasised on the Spanish and Iranian model of organ transplants.
In Spanish model of “opt-out” cadaver donation, organs of all cadavers are automatically donated unless the deceased has voluntarily opted out. In Iranian model, patients enlist with an NGO that matches donors without allowing any interaction between the patient and donor. Dr Gulati says that both these models can be emulated in India.
Dr Anup Kumar, HoD of Urology and Renal Transplant at Safdarjung Hospital said,
“First of all, no financial transaction should be involved in organ donation. laws should be more stringent. Apollo Hospital case is regretful. Such cases should be brought to the book and should be lesson for others. There should be a legal expert who should look after all the concerned and legal matters.”
Dr Kumar, who is the nodal officer for the kidney transplant at Safdarjung Hospital and member of Appellate Authorisation Committee for Organ Transplant in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said, “In India, nearly 2 lakh people need kidney transplants every year. Of this, about 10,000 get the donors and 1.9 lakh survive on dialysis.” So far, only one Cadaver renal transplant was conducted at Safdarjung Hospital, he added.
Dr D Bhowmik, Professor of Nephrology at AIIMS, said: “Definitely, we are over-burdened with patients who need kidney transplant. In one year, AIIMS is just able to do about 150 renal transplants including living donors and cadaver. For this we need basic infrastructure, operation theater (OTs) and pre and post medication for the patient.” Kidney transplant patient at AIIMS have to see the waiting list for at least 8-10 months to get the renal transplant, added Dr Bhowmik.
Amitava Sinha Roy, a senior journalist based in Delhi, who had undergone kidney transplant in 2009, said: “I have experienced emotional and physical trauma and financial costs first hand. Hence, I appeal to the people, health experts and the Government to promote awareness of the scourge of kidney disease, the pressing need for its control with modes of treatment and cadaver organ donation in the country at vast scale.”