Tamil Nadu wins best State award for organ and tissue transplantation

Tamil Nadu received the award for the best State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), on the occasion of the 13^th Indian Organ Donation Day on Thursday.

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian received the award from Union Health Minister Mansukh L. Mandaviya in New Delhi. Ministers of State (Health) Bharati Pravin Pawar and S.P. Singh Baghel, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi and Member-Secretary of Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu N. Gopalakrishnan were present on the occasion.

Since the inception of the deceased donor organ transplantation programme in Tamil Nadu in 2008, there have been 1,706 donors. A total of 786 hearts, 801 lungs, 1,566 livers, 3,047 kidneys, 37 pancreas, six small bowels, two stomachs and four hands have been transplanted. A total of 3,950 minor organs and tissues have been transplanted, according to official data.

Addressing the media, Mr. Subramanian said that earlier, 13 government hospitals and 120 private hospitals had organ retrieval licenses in Tamil Nadu. Following three consultative meetings with the deans of government medical college hospitals, 27 hospitals obtained these licenses. In total, 40 government hospitals now had organ retrieval licenses in the State.

“Tamil Nadu has the highest number of government and private hospitals possessing organ retrieval licenses in the country,” he said.

He said that earlier, only Government Stanley Medical College Hospital was performing liver transplants. “We entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Rela Hospital, after which liver transplants are being performed at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). In the last one year, four liver transplants have been performed at RGGGH,” he said.

The Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme provided coverage of up to ₹22 lakh for organ transplants. Organ donation had become a movement in the State, Mr. Subramanian said.

Vidiyal, an automated web-cum-mobile app, was rolled out in August 2021 for registration of patients and allocation of organs. “For the past one-and-a-half years, the government has been allocating organs in a transparent way, on the basis of the seniority of patients. No one can influence anything,” he said.

On the occasion, MOHAN Foundation, an NGO, received the best NGO award. Sunil Shroff, trustee of the foundation, said the 27-year-old organisation first started its work in Tamil Nadu, and now had nine offices throughout the country. It provided counselling services at RGGGH for 12 years for donor families. The organisation works with government hospitals for capacity building and training, besides creating awareness, he said.

The NGO has been working in emerging States in the programme such as Rajasthan. It has also been working in Imphal for the last four years. Dr. Shroff added that Imphal did their first deceased donation in a government hospital on Wednesday, the first donation in all of the northeast.