India to train intensivists, anesthesia experts for organ transplant coordinating activities

New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): After signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Spain to enhance the efficacy of organ donation in India, the Union Health Ministry is planning to train intensivists and anesthesia experts for organ transplant coordinating activities. The training of medical experts is likely to be held in December in New Delhi.

Currently, organ transplant coordinating procedures are being conducted by people with a non-medical background in India. The job of transplant coordinator is to counsel and encourage relatives of the brain-dead patient for organ transplantation process.

Dr Vasanthi Ramesh, the Director of the National Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) told ANI, "A person from a medical background will be able to identify a brain dead patient earlier. Patients are declared brain dead by a committee of four doctors. If intensivists and anesthesia experts directly get to engage with these doctors, the process of organ transplantation can be managed well without any further delays."

"In Spain, transplant coordinating activities are well performed by people from the medical field. Hence, in December, we are planning to train intensivists and anesthesia experts for the purpose," Ramesh added.

The health ministry has shortlisted 20 candidates from institutes like AIIMS, PGI-Chandigarh and JIPMER Pondicherry etc, for the training, the official said.

NOTTO is an apex body of the health ministry which manages the allocation of organ transplantation in the country.

Ramesh further said that there needs to be a strong awareness campaign among the people to make organ donation a topic of discussion.

"On the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994 (celebrated on July 8), we received 745 online pledges for organ donation in a single day. We appeal for people's participation in the organ donation movement," the NOTTO director added.

It is important to note that even though India has the largest population in the world, the ratio of organ donation stands less than one per million population while Spain is at the top with 50 per million population, the doctor pointed out.