U.P. still in single digits in cadaver transplants
Uttar Pradesh lags in organ transplants, with only 1 kidney and 4 liver cadaver transplants in 2022, highlighting a critical gap in awareness and infrastructure.
When it comes to organ transplants, especially kidney and liver, Uttar Pradesh is several rungs down the ladder than Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra and many southern states.
Even as hundreds await transplants in the state, one of the ways to bring down the long waiting list is cadaver transplant, a process that involves organ transfers from deceased or brain-dead patients to recipients in need.
In 2022, UP saw only one cadaver kidney and four cadaver liver transplants. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh and several others have their figures more than 10 times of U.P’s, recent data from National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) suggested.
NOTTO works for the Centre’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Strictly speaking of cadaver allografts, Gujarat reported 252 (kidney) and 152 (liver), Chandigarh 78 (kidney), Maharashtra 162 (kidney) and 92 (liver), and Andhra Pradesh 52 (kidney) transplants in 2022, the records showed.
The disparity highlights a critical gap in organ donation awareness, infrastructure, and government support. While other states have made significant strides in promoting cadaver donations, implementing effective organ transplant programmes and encouraging people to register as organ donors have been a challenge for Uttar Pradesh, despite its large population.
In Lucknow alone, over 500 kidney patients are facing life-threatening situations as they await transplants at prominent hospitals such as PGI, KGMU, and Lohia, hospital records showed. Due to a shortage of resources and unavailability of organs, these patients are caught in the middle.
At Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, popularly called PGI, around 400 kidney patients are awaiting transplants. Last year, the institution was able to perform only around 160 kidney transplants.
Dr. Narayan Prasad, the head of the nephrology department at the hospital, said, “Due to the lack of transplants, many patients have to rely on dialysis, which significantly impacts their health and quality of life. Doctors at PGI are striving to increase the number of transplants this year, with plans to carry out about four surgeries per week. However, the demand from patients from across the state has put immense pressure on PGI. Presently we are performing 160 transplants in a year, but our target is to take this number to 200.”
Dr R Harshvardhan, the joint director of NOTTO’s state unit (SOTTO-U.P.), acknowledged the problems with organ transplants in the state. “SOTTO-UP has initiated several steps. PGI alone cannot meet the entire state’s needs. So, we need to develop other centres for organ transplants. After extensive efforts, the renal transplant programme has resumed at IMS-BHU in Varanasi. It will shortly begin at GIMS in Greater Noida as well,” he noted.
He added: “Additionally, SOTTO has submitted proposals to NOTTO and the ministry to initiate renal transplant programmes at GSVM Medical College in Kanpur and SN Medical College in Agra. The government has approved ₹1.43 crore for the GSVM programme, which was sanctioned by NOTTO on March 3. Furthermore, a proposal for a lung transplant programme at KGMU in Lucknow was approved, with a ₹1.5 crore grant sanctioned by NOTTO and the ministry on January 23.”
He said SOTTO-U.P. was working to promote cadaver transplants, but it would take some time for UP to catch up with states such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.