Pool of experts favoured to expedite organ harvesting

Nine private hospitals in the district, empanelled under the Jeevasarthakathe programme, have favoured a central pool of experts to prevent delay in harvesting of organs from brain-dead patients.

The Jeevasarthakathe programme has been started by the government to facilitate organ donation and transplantation in the region.

All the empanelled hospitals have received licence to retrieve organs from the deceased after intimating the brain-dead cases to Dr Rajeshwari Devi H R, who is the Wenlock District Hospital Superintendent and also serving nodal officer of the Jeevasarthakathe programme.

Retrieval committee

“The hospital’s in-house four-member retrieval committee is empowered to harvest organs. A delay in harvesting organs from the deceased donors would take place if one member of the committee is absent for any reason,” sources said.

“In such cases, harvesting of organs would be expedited if private hospitals were allowed to draw experts from the central pool,” the sources added.

The formation of a central pool on lines similar to a committee in Bengaluru was approved by Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh at the first meeting of the Jeevasarthakathe programme at the deputy commissioner’s office, the sources informed.

They also said that the district administration or the nodal officer of the Jeevasarthakathe programme is next required to get approval from the government on launching a central pool of experts.

In 2019, organs had been harvested from as many as four deceased donors.

Eight patients from Mangaluru had received kidneys, cornea and one heart. Also, three patients from Bengaluru had received livers, two heart valves and one lung.