Corporate initiates Donation Drive

Source: Thaindian News (IANS), Chennai, March 2008

Several hundred employees of HCL Technologies, a computer major, Thursday pledged to donate their organs in response to their company’s initiative to promote organ donation in India. It is the first time that a major corporate house has taken such initiative.

The community service council of HCL Technologies, Chennai, organised a camp here in association with Mohan (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation, a non-governmental organization, to clear misconceptions about organ donation.

Hundreds of geeks and upwardly mobile techies gathered at the camp were told to “give a thought to the myths and facts about organ donation.”  “It is a novel experience,” said T.S. Seema, a 24-year-old computer engineer. “I had never thought about this, now I feel proud that my organs may one day help someone else live.”

The Foundation issued donor cards and handed out brochures explaining the process in organ donation…

Read the full story, here…

World’s First Heart Transplant

The “Cape Gateway” website has an interesting feature on the world’s first successful human-to-human heart transplant by Dr. Christiaan Barnard of South Africa:

Groote Schuur Hospital was placed centre stage in the world’s spotlight when Professor Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on the third of December 1967. Sadly, Mr Louis Washkansky (pictured left) only lived for 18 days, succumbing in the end to pneumonia. His new heart beat strongly to the end.

The original theatre where this transplant was performed has been turned into a museum in honour of these pioneers of medicine, and to the first donor and recipient.

It may also be interesting to note that, according to the Hindustan Times’ Mumbai edition of 28th Mar 2008, there have been only 40 heart transplants in all of India, so far.  The worldwide annual figure for heart transplants stands at 4,500, as per the data provided by the International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation…

Read More:
The Cape Gateway story on Dr. Barnard | Wikipedia on Heart Transplantation

 

Update:
According to the Mumbai Mirror, 3 Apr 2008 :

Fourteen years after seven city hospitals were granted permission from the Health department to conduct heart transplants, not a single heart transplant surgery has been conducted in the city, for lack of donors.

Govt. mulls changes in Transplant Law

Source: The Hindu, Mar 2008

India is exploring various options for setting up an organ donation system and has zeroed in on the model of “presumed consent” under which everyone would be considered a donor unless they stipulate otherwise.

The move is expected to help thousands of people suffering from organ failure once implemented.

Expressing hope that the government would be able to introduce some kind of a model very soon, Ramadoss said a beginning can be made from corneal donation…

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Transplants to be Incentivised

Source: NewsTrack India, Jan 2008

Earlier a high powered committee was formed to review organ transplantation; the committee submitted its report long back in 2004. Now again the government has taken up the issue and has announced a national programme for organ transplantation. Under this programme every legal donation will be tagged with incentives. A person will be able to donate after he or she will be declared brain dead. The other benefits include life and health insurance cover, discounts in train travel and preferred status in organ transplant waiting list to the wife, children and parents of the donor.

Government also planned to open Organ Retrieval and Banking Organisation (ORBO) in all metros Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai this year, and followed by Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Lucknow. ORBO centres will monitor the storage and retrieval of organ across the registered hospital…

Read the full story, here…