Organ donation, busting of spurious drugs sale rise
In organ donation, the state has an average that is 10 times higher than that of others
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-09-25 07:41 GMT
CHENNAI: With Tamil Nadu continuing as a top medical destination in the country, two important parameters, organ donation and detection of sale of spurious drugs, in the state have reached an all-time high. In organ donation, the state has an average that is 10 times higher than that of others. Similarly, prosecution against manufacturing spurious drugs and sale of substandard drugs in Tamil Nadu had also been up over the past five years, say health department officials.
Health minister C. Vijaya Baskar on Wednesday shared some data on these parameters in the state Assembly, but department insiders opined that the actual numbers will be at least 10 per cent more as data compilation is a difficult task in the health department. This is because the priority is for saving lives and not data compilation and enforcement, the sources said. According to official sources, kidney and cornea topped the list of organ donations for 2014-15.
A total of 227 kidneys and 196 corneas had been transplanted, followed by heart-heart valves (143) and liver (129). In skin donation, the number of donors had doubled in the past two years with 12 donations during the period. In the detection of sale of spurious, substandard and expired drugs, since 2011 prosecution had been steadily growing.
The other violations booked under drugs and cosmetics act included sale of drugs without prescription and not possessing valid licence to sell. In 2011-12, a total of 4,074 drug samples were drawn leading to 270 cases.
In 2013 –14, 6,607 samples were collected resulting in 302 cases. In 2014-15, the sample collections touched an all time high of 10,001, with 387 samples being found substandard. “There has to be more inspection in medical stores and pharma companies. At present, awareness level is very low in public on pharmaceuticals”, said T. Sadagopan, president, Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre. For instance, there is a clear order from the drug controller directing all medical shops should be air conditioned, but still several medical stores in tier two cities and rural areas did not have the facility. Batch numbers of drugs should be computerised so that consumers also could keep a track on medicines they purchase, he said.