Maharashtra: GMC Nanded performs first cadaver organ donation

Aurangabad: The Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded has become a leader of sorts in cadaver donation among state run medical colleges. It has acquired this position after donating vital organs to six different patients in cities across the country and giving them life all over again. It was able to achieve this near impossible task by inspiring relatives of a brain dead person to donate his vital organs to the dying.

When a radio announcer Sudhir Rawalkar from Mukhed met with a road accident and was declared brain dead on Tuesday, the counselor and doctor after convincing his family to donate his cornea, liver, heart and kidneys got onto the job of organ retrieval. The Aurangabad Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Committee (ZTCC) came to their aid.

The heart was flown to Fortis, Mumbai, the liver to Ruby Hospital in Pune, the kidney pair transferred by road to MGM Hospital and Kamalnayan Bajaj Hospital in Aurangabad, while the corneas were retained in at Dr Shankarrao Chavan GMCH, revealed Hospital Dean, Kanan Yelikar.

"The liver reached Ruby Hospital in Pune at around 4.55pm on Wednesday," said Surekha Joshi, transplant coordinator at Ruby Hall Clinic, but refused to divulge details about the recipient. "It is too early to say anything right now," she said.

Similarly, doctors from MGM and KBH spoke of the kidney being transplanted into the bodies of two recipients suffering from renal failure.

"By means of a green corridor, we were able to take the heart to the airport from the hospital in just 13 minutes. It generally requires 45 minutes to cover the distance," said Kakani.

This way Nanded has emerged victorious by witnessing the year’s first successful cadaver organ donation, of course with the combined efforts of a team of surgeons and medical professionals from Pune, Aurangabad and Mumbai. Not to forget the district collector Suresh Kakani, the Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee, the city police and the airport authorities.

According to Kakani, organ donation exercise took off , after Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister appealed to the citizens for support for this health ministry initiative.

The District Administration, Nanded = have also initiated the process of filling the organ donation form along with that of relatives. "It is very important that the kin are aware of the deceased person's wish to donate organs. This initiative also helped to minimize the efforts required to convince the relatives," he added.

Aurangabad is leading in terms of cadaver donations having been the first to start, thirty three patients have been breathed a fresh lease of life into so far this year including the one at Nanded.