Hundreds await organ donation

In a sign of growing awareness about organ donation, 398 people have donated their organs over the past five years in the city. However, more than 2,700 people are still awaiting organ donation. A majority of them being in need of kidneys.

According to data that is available with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in the five years from 2011 to November 2015, 6,243 donors have registered for organ donation with 398 persons benefitting from such donation.

The Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Centre (ZTCC) at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal and General Hospital (LTMG) in Sion manages organ donation cases in the city. With the help of this centre, 256 kidneys, 136 livers, four hearts and two lungs have been transplanted in the city’s public and private hospitals during the past five years. However, 2,737 people are still on the waiting list to receive organs. Of these, 2,565 are in need of kidneys, 155 in need of livers, 15 in need of hearts, and two in need of lungs.

On the occasion of National Organ Donation Day on November 27, the civic body has appealed to citizens to register for organ donation in major municipal hospitals. “Many lives can be saved with the help of organ donation,” said Dr Suhasini Nagda, medical director of Civic Hospitals.