The organs of another donor being transported from Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.
| Photo Credit:
R. ASHOK
Even when the innovative measures taken by the Tamil Nadu government to encourage organ donations have yielded positive results, the ever-growing demand for the organs, especially kidney and lungs, shows an existing gap in the efforts of the government.
The State has witnessed a significant jump in cadaver organ donations as the number rose from 178 in 2023 to 268 in 2024, thanks to the government’s important announcement of extending State honours to the mortal remains of the organ donors.
As per the G.O, Collectors would honour the mortal remains of the deceased donors and in case when the Collector was unable to attend the ceremony, senior revenue officials like District Revenue Officer (DRO), Additional Collector, Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), tahsildar, would be paying honours.
The practice, believed to encourage families of brain-dead victims to come forward for the noble cause of saving about five lives through a single transplant, has yielded more results than was expected.
At the same time, former Dean of Thanjavur Government Medical College Hospital R. Balajinathan said the demand for organs could not be met as it would only increase owing to several accidents and rapid lifestyle changes.
According to the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN), the total active waiting list for kidney is 7,285, liver is 522, heart is 82, dual lungs is 66, pancreas is 6 and small bowel is 5.
Innovations and administrative slackness
When the list has only increased in the past few years, the hospitals should strive to improve the number of donations by furthering the innovations and expediting the administrative processes, he added.
Dr. Balajinathan said they named the tree on the hospital premises as a ‘life tree’ to engrave the list of organ donors in the hospital on a board placed nearby.
“As both the hospital and the board are to permanently stay at the hospital, families of donors could feel proud about their service to those in need,” he added.
Though such initiatives were taken to improve the donation, administrative slackness in informing TRANSTAN about the hospital’s need for organs has allowed the authority to approve the organ for other hospitals, he noted.
“Even when the hospital possesses a licence for lung transplantation, owing to the absence of a permanent Dean, no effective steps are taken for the transplantation procedure,” Dr. Balajinathan alleged.
The procedure for distributing donated organs to various hospitals according to seniority of the waiting list is based on the local hospital’s – performing the organ harvest – need for those organs, he said.
Only when the local hospital did not want any organs, TRANSTAN would decide the distribution based on the list.
As about 13 government medical college hospitals possessed the necessary facilities and doctors for both donation and transplantation, administrative decisions of the respective hospitals would help in improving the organ donations, he stated.
Government aid
A doctor at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai said that though counselling was given to the family of the person declared brain dead about the importance of the donation, only a few come forward to give their assent.
At GRH, the number of donors in 2017 was four, and it went to two in 2018, two in 2019, one in 2020 and 2021, five in 2022, six in 2023, 13 in 2024 and five in 2025.
From their experience, the doctor said that families, in addition to recognition, needed government incentive or aid in the form of employment.
Since the number is only going to increase, aid in the form of employment or any other form of assistance could encourage the families to shed their sentiments for a noble cause, the doctor noted.
Families delaying their assent for organ donation hampered the harvest process, said J. Silas Jeyamani, Resident Medical Officer, Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital.
Usually, organ harvest can be performed only when the donor has the necessary pressure, oxygen saturation, perfusion, among others, he added.
“A person can be declared brain dead even if a bit of life lingers in them. Families while seeing their loved ones breathing will be hopeful that they can be saved,” he noted.
But, when that was not the case and the person would eventually die a brain death, giving their assent after that would do no good in harvesting as the organs would mostly lose their value, Dr. Silas Jeyamani stated.
Blaming social stigma attached to disturbing the organs of a dead person, he said that many people would not want to go against their religion or their belief.
However, more awareness from doctors and the government along with any form of incentive would motivate many families to save others in need of an organ.
Published – June 08, 2025 10:27 pm IST