Telangana govt to use choppers to transport organs across State

State government will use choppers to transport donated organs of the brain dead patients from districts hospitals to teaching hospitals

Hyderabad: In a major push for more organs transplant surgeries in government hospitals, the State government will use choppers to transport donated organs of the brain dead patients from districts hospitals to teaching hospitals in Hyderabad.

To encourage family members of brain dead victims in government hospitals to give consent for donating organs of the deceased, the State government is exploring the possibility of providing free admissions to the children of the deceased in government residential schools and also priority in allotting 2-bedroom houses being constructed under affordable housing scheme, Health Minister, T Harish Rao, while taking part in National Organ Donation Day celebrations at Gandhi Hospital on Sunday, said.

On the occasion, the Minister felicitated relatives of brain dead victims who had consented to donate the organs.
Government hospitals must compete with private hospitals in conducting organ transplantations, he said adding that doctors from general medicine and neurology in district hospitals have to work together so that trauma patients, who are not responding to ICU care, are declared as brain dead. The tertiary hospitals in Hyderabad and hospitals in districts must coordinate to ensure there is a constant flow of donor organs, Harish Rao said.

At present, there are over 3,000 patients in the waiting list of Jeevandan while the availability of donor organs is just in hundreds.

“In terms of organ donation and transplantation, Telangana is the best among other Indian states. However, we lag behind because of the huge demand. The waiting time for donor organs has to be reduced,” the Minister said.

To strengthen infrastructure for conducting organ transplants, the State government has released Rs 35 crore to construct state-of-the-art multi-organ transplantation centre at Gandhi Hospital. “The high-end facility will be ready in six months. The NIMS hospital is already conducting transplants but there is a need to take it up more aggressively,” he said.

The Minister acknowledged there is a legal case pending in the High Court, which is preventing the State government to take up construction at OGH campus. “I am sure that the talented surgeons at OGH will be able to conduct organ transplant surgeries by utilising existing infrastructure,” he added.