About Organ Donation and Transplant: UPSC Current Affairs

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Context:

The Union Health Minister has directed States and Medical institutions to create permanent jobs for transplant coordinators.

About Transplant Coordinators

It is a crucial person in the organ donation process, they do everything from helping identify donors to coordinating the entire process of organ transplantation. Their main role includes:

Talking to families when someone passes away and encouraging them to consider organ donation.
Matching donors and recipients (the person who will get the organ).
Handling logistics (like moving the organs to the right place quickly).
Supporting the donor’s family through a very emotional time.

Without these coordinators, the entire process of organ donation and transplant could slow down or become more complicated.

Recent direction from the Union Home Ministry

The Health Ministry has noticed that many States and institutions haven’t made much effort to create permanent jobs for these coordinators.

The Ministry has given a final warning: if they don’t start creating regular positions for transplant coordinators, they won’t get any funding after 2024-25.

The Ministry wants all hospitals that perform transplants to appoint permanent transplant coordinators by the next financial year (2025-26) to ensure that every hospital is well-prepared to handle organ donations and transplants smoothly.

Organ Donation and Transplantation in India

The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA) 1994 regulates the removal, storage, and transplantation of human organs and tissues for therapeutic objectives, and it also prohibits the commercialization of organ donation.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare August 2024 Report

Women accounted for 9,784 living donors, compared to 5,651 men.
In 2023, the total number of living donors was 15,436.
In 2023, the number of organ transplants reached 18,378, the highest number ever recorded.
Telangana led with 252 dead donors, followed by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with 178 each.
Delhi reported the highest number of kidney transplants (2,576), followed by Tamil Nadu (1,633) and Maharashtra (1,305).
Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of heart transplants with 70 cases.

Types of Organ Donation

Living Donor Donation: A living person can donate certain organs or parts of organs, such as one kidney or a part of the liver. Living donors are usually close relatives of the recipient.
Deceased Donor Donation: Organs can be donated after a person is declared brain dead. It can save multiple lives as one donor can provide several organs; including kidneys, liver, heart, lungs, pancreas, and intestines.

Process of Organ Donation

For living donations, the donor must give informed consent. For deceased donations, consent is generally obtained from the next of kin.
Potential donors undergo medical evaluations to ensure they are suitable candidates for donation.
Organs from the donor are surgically removed and transplanted into the recipient, this process must be completed quickly to ensure the functionality of the organs.

National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) set up under the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, manages organ donation and transplantation in India. It maintains a national registry and coordinates organ allocation.

Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations (ROTTO) are regional bodies that work under NOTTO to manage organ donation and transplantation at the state level.

State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations (SOTTO) are state-level organizations that facilitate the process within individual states.

Challenges

Many people don’t fully understand what organ donation involves. Myths, like it might disfigure the body goes against religious beliefs, that stop people from donating. These misconceptions can be addressed with better education.

In some communities, cultural beliefs discourage organ donation. People believe that donating organs could interfere with certain traditions or customs. Addressing these concerns requires sensitivity and a comprehensive approach to reach different communities.

Not all hospitals have the resources or staff needed to perform organ transplants. This includes things like intensive care units, organ retrieval teams, and trained transplant coordinators. Also, the availability of these facilities often differs greatly between cities and rural areas, leaving many without access to the care they need.

The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA) isn't enforced equally everywhere. Some states do better than others, and there’s still a problem with preventing organ trafficking. There are also ethical concerns about making sure all donations are voluntary and not influenced by money.

The number of deceased organ donors is low compared to the number of people who need transplants because there is no system in place to identify and manage potential donors.

Way Forward

Awareness campaigns to explain the importance of organ donation and clear up any myths. Using media like TV, social media, and even local events can help more people learn about organ donation and how they can participate.

The government should ensure that laws like THOTA are applied equally across all states, this will streamline the process of getting approval for organ donations and help stop illegal practices like organ trafficking. It’s also important to have ethical rules in place to make sure donations are truly voluntary.

Hospitals (especially in rural or less-developed areas) need better equipment and trained staff to handle organ transplants, this includes having intensive care units and trained professionals who know how to manage the process from organ retrieval to surgery.

Technology can be utilized to improve the efficiency of the donation process, digital registries can track donors and recipients to help match organs faster and minimize waiting periods. Telemedicine can also be used to provide care for patients in areas where healthcare access is limited.

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Source:

The Hindu

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