Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The largely unregulated sector of kidney donations at healthcare institutions in the country is all set to become transparent as the Centre mulls to make the entire process online.
The new system envisaged by the Union health and family welfare ministry would simplify the complex process of transplants and offer relief to patients in need, said experts in the state working in this sector. The ministry has sought comments from experts and different stakeholders before going ahead with the new plans.
According to the proposed system, all kidney donations in the country would be conducted through a repository of data relating to kidney donations from cadavers based on a priority list of urgent cases. The draft guidelines of the ministry propose preparation of a priority list of renal patients seeking transplants across the country. The guidelines recommend that patients seeking transplants through the system should be of up to 65 years of age to be eligible for transplant.
The new system seeks to make it possible for patients to undergo dialysis wherever possible and says patients should have been on regular dialysis for more than three months before being considered for a transplant. The urgent-listing system would also include patients no longer having access to dialysis or those who cannot be sustained on dialysis. Under the new system, priority will be given to patients with end-stage kidney ailments unlikely to get a donor with a cross-match and those requiring multi-organ transplants.
The proposals recommend constitution of central and state kidney advisory bodies for better coordination of transplants. The ministry and the advisory bodies would work together to revise the national priority list regularly.
Meanwhile, National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTT), which operates under the Union health ministry, has been entrusted with the task of maintaining the registry of patients seeking renal transplant. These steps come at a time when the country’s unregulated renal transplant industry suffers from gaps in demand and supply leading to black-marketing and illegal organ trade.
“The process of kidney transplants remains very complicated in Orissa. In fact, the whole process of organ donations is in a pathetic condition in the state unlike many other states. The huge gap in demand and supply forces people to grapple to engage in wrongdoing,” said Dr Pravas Acharya, convener of Body and Organ Donation Initiative (BODI), to Orissa POST.
He added, “The state government needs to take proactive steps towards making kidney transplants a transparent process. A one-stop solution for kidney transplants can be a major boost to the healthcare industry”.
