Chandigarh: PGI holds workshop on low organ donation rate
Chandigarh’s PGIMER hosted MANTHAN 2024: Roundtable workshop, focusing on navigating challenges and expediting deceased organ donation in northern India
Improving manpower is crucial for enhancing organ donation programmes in government hospitals, emphasised Dr Anil Kumar, director of National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), during a roundtable workshop organised by PGIMER’s Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) centre at a hotel in Chandigarh on Friday.
PGIMER hosted MANTHAN 2024: Roundtable workshop, focusing on navigating challenges and expediting deceased organ donation in northern India.
Talking to HT, Dr Anil addressed the challenges in organ donation, citing manpower issues in government-run hospitals. He mentioned efforts to increase manpower and provide training, including collaboration with established institutes like PGIMER to extend organ retrieval services to GMCH-32.
The NOTTO director said, “The solution to organ shortage and achievement of self-sufficiency in organ donation is possible only through systematic strengthening of the deceased donor programme.”
“The three tier concept of setting up of national, regional and state units under National Organ Transplant Programme is an excellent step towards bridging the gap between need and availability,” he added.
“However, we need requisite infrastructure, motivated manpower and community engagement to accelerate the deceased organ donation programme and PGIMER, with all these enabling factors perfectly in place, has set a role model for other hospitals in the country to emulate,” added Dr Anil.
Inaugurating the workshop as chief guest, PGIMER director Vivek Lal emphasised the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing to elevate organ donation rates, which remain insufficient to meet demand.
He said, “The donation rate might not be as advanced as what we would like it to be. Its high time that we reach out, collaborate and replicate the best practices of each other to upskill and upscale the donation rate, which is still abysmally low to meet the requirement. ”
Punjabi actress Diljott, famous for her roles in Teshan and Yaar Annmulle 2, pledged for organ donation during the workshop. She urged everyone to join the mission for a noble cause, emphasising the impact and gratifying experiences of organ donation.