Since 2008, the donor numbers in this category stands at 1,185: Health Secretary

Tamil Nadu has the maximum utilisation of organs in the country’s deceased donor programme, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said.

“Since the beginning of the cadaver donation programme in 2008, we have had 1,185 donors. The organs donated included 459 hearts, 338 lungs, 1,101 livers and 2,143 kidneys. A total of 15 kinds of organs were retrieved and gave life to people through 6,791 transplants, including minor organs,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the first International Conference on Lung Transplantation and Advanced Management of Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILDCON) on Saturday.

Tamil Nadu is in the forefront of organ donation for the last three years, he said. Of the 15 organs that are retrieved, 13 are reserved only for Indians, while the heart and lungs, if not utilised for Indians are allotted to foreigners, he said.

High-end surgeries

“About 6,851 persons were approved for free high-end surgeries through a corpus fund of Rs. 501 crore under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme,” he said.

Inaugurating the conference, Kamal Haasan, actor and founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam, said he had donated his body a long time ago.

He pointed out the progress medicine has made over the years. “People can replace anything from a nose to a lung. However, I think the best thing is not to replace, but to take care of what you already have,” he said. Sunil Shroff, managing trustee, Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network Foundation, said in 2016, 60 lung transplants were performed in India.

‘Doubled in 2017’

“Last year, it was 126. We have doubled the lung transplants. There has been remarkable progress in the last six years,” he said. He added when Mr. Haasan launched his party, 1,500 of its members registered for organ donation.

The conference, organised by the Gleneagles Global Health City and Lung Foundation of India, was attended by 350 pulmonologists, intensivists, cardio-thoracic surgeons and about 100 international and national faculty.

Sandeep Attawar, chairman and programme director, Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant, Gleneagles Global Hospitals, spoke.