Kerala: Organ transplant mortality 40 per cent

Kochi: Not all the organ transplant operations in the state are  successful  although the popularity of the surgeries is going up. According to the available data, the state witnessed a 40 per cent mortality rate after the surgeries in the last four years. Out of the 195 patients who underwent organ transplant in  various hospitals across the state,  75 persons expired.

Out of the 26 transplant cases,  23 patients died in a leading hospital in Kochi, according  to an RTI reply received by RTI activist  S. Dhanraj of Kochi from  the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

There is at present no mechanism to monitor the survival rate of the patients who undergo  organ transplant. Top state government sources claim that there is no data available with the state to check the transplant cases based on the organs donated.

‘Kerala Network for Organ Sharing,’  an initiative by the state,  collected the data as part of its  plan to launch an outcome registry for the first time in the country.

Dr Noble Gracious, nodal officer, revealed that they were   set to launch the registry in the coming days. According to him,  KNOS asked the hospitals to give the data and they complied with the same.

As per the data,  in 2015 alone 76 organ transplant surgeries were held in 37 different hospitals in the state. In 2016,  already 16 transplant operations have been  held in  13 hospitals.

The data show that organ transplant operations are increasing day by day. A total of 45 operations were  held in 2012-2013,   58  in 2014 and 76 in 2015.
 

Health activists allege that with the organ transplant gaining popularity owing to the  media coverage,  the number of operations was  also going up. There should be a proper system in place even from the beginning, including the issuance of licences to the hospital.

In western countries, outcome registry is compulsory which makes the circle of organ retrieval, donation and transplantation and survival complete.