How to register for organ donation? First, if you want to donate your organ in the event of your death, you have to register yourselves as donors with the Zonal Coordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK). This is free of cost. You can also register with ZCCK online. A pledge card will be sent to you through post or you can also call them on 9845006768 (WWW.ZCCK.in)and soon they will be at your doorstep, with a registration form. Irrespective of gender, religion or race, anyone aged between 5 to 60 years can donate organs. If the donor is a minor, i.e. under 18 years, he or she is required to submit the consent of parents or legal guardian. Any healthy person can donate organs. HIV, Cancer or Junior Diabetic patients should preferably refrain from transplantation, but at the time of brain-death they can be tested for any organ fit to be transplanted. While registering for donation, two witnesses are required, of which at least one should be a family member. The details of the donors will be kept confidential. Organ donation in Bangalore Time gap for transplant Organ Preferable Maximum Kidney 24 hours 48 hours Liver 6 hours 12 hours Heart 4 hours 6 hours Zonal Co-ordination Committee of Karnataka for Transplantation (ZCCK) is a government-recognised body under whose guidance and authority organ transplantations can be carried out in licensed hospitals of Karnataka. Jency Antony, Chief Transplant Officer, ZCCK, says: “There is lack of awareness in the state and unwillingness from the family regarding organ donation, mainly because of the grief of death.” Unlike Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, Israel where organ donation is carried out on the basis of presumed consent, which allows organ donation without the consent of family as the body as government authority, India needs the permission of family. “Transplantation of Human Organ Act-1994 does not give provision to carry out presumed consent. A family consent is must,” says Jency Antony. “Doctors who treated the patient should convince the family to permit removing the organ which will save another’s life.” She emphasises the need to appoint a special counsellor or a doctor to convince the family of the brain-dead patients, as many brain dead cases go without transplantation due to lack of awareness about the donation. Hospitals in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad have already appointed professional grief counselors to convince the families. There are 40 licensed hospitals all over Karnataka. However, they are mostly city-centric, with majority of them being in Bangalore. Can one sell or buy organs? According to law, whoever (a) makes or receives any payment for the supply of, or for an offer to supply any human organ; (b) seeks to find person willing to supply for payment any human organ; (c) offers to supply any human organ for payment; (d) initiates or negotiates any arrangement involving the making of any payment for the supply of, or for an offer to supply, any human organ; (e) takes part in the management or control of a body of persons, whether a society, firm or company, whose activities consist of supplying organs for payment, and (f) publishes any advertisement for organs is punishable under law, with minimum two and maximum seven years of imprisonment, along with fine. Many nonprofit organisations try to get involved in organ donation. However Jency says: “Donors are not recommended to approach them. NGOs’ duty is to create awareness about organ donation.” Pledge cards will be available at hospitals for any person interested to donate organ. When to donate organs? Requirement of organs in Karnataka, as on 6 August 2013 Kidney - 782 Liver - 150 Heart - 50 Lungs- 10 Heart and lungs - 7 Kidney and liver - 2 Kidney and Pancreas - 2 “There is no age limit or any criteria for donating organ,” says Jency. “We encourage everybody to donate organ. We carry out tests on the patients prior to retrieving the organ. If the organs are fit we use it.” What organs can be donated? Organs include kidneys, liver, pancreas, lungs and heart, while tissue constitutes eyes, skin, bone, bone marrow, nerves, brain, heart valves, eardrum, ear bones and blood. When can organs be donated? Organs and tissues can be donated at the time of brain death, or soon after one’s death. Brain death is not a state of coma. It a state where the brain stops functioning. It can be a result of major brain injury or hemorrhage that result in heavy bleeding in the brain. This happens mostly after major road accident or bleeding in the brain due to stroke. Organs should be removed from the body before stipulated time - before the rigor mortis(stiffening of the joints and muscles of a body a few hours after death) sets in to the body. It is important for the organs to be ‘alive’ while being removed and transplanted into another body. “Organ donation must not be delayed,” says Jency, as organs may collapse any time within hours of brain death. Therefore it is must that the transplantation takes place as soon as possible. Care should be taken while patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, hepatitis B and C, diabetes - type 1 want to donate their organs, as the organs might be already damaged or infected. In such cases, the removal of organ is decided based on specific tests.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 09:33:28 +0000
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