Based on information provided by the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), the southern states of India have become the leaders in heart transplantation in 2023. According to the data, Tamil Nadu performed the most heart transplants in the country last year—70—followed by Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Telangana, with 35, 33, 29, and 15. By comparison, there were only 14 heart transplants in the Delhi-NCR region.
The increased availability of deceased donor organs is partly responsible for the high number of heart transplants in southern states. There were 1,099 deceased organ donors in India in 2023. With 252, Telangana recorded the most donations, closely followed by Karnataka (178), Maharashtra (148), Gujarat (146), and Tamil Nadu (178). Since hearts for transplants must come from people who are brain dead and on life support, deceased donors are essential.
The southern states enjoy an advantage in deceased donors, according to Dr. Y. K. Misra, head of cardiac sciences at Manipal Hospitals, which helps them maintain their leadership in heart transplantation. To encourage patients to seek treatment in these jurisdictions, some of them also provide free drugs to recipients of heart transplants.
Since the first successful treatment at AIIMS in 1994, the field of heart transplantation in India has seen substantial evolution. Still, the amount of transplants performed falls short of the entire need. End-stage heart failure affects about 10% of heart patients and may necessitate a heart transplant. The limited number of donors available restricts the number of surgeries that can be carried out despite the considerable demand. A heart transplant usually costs between Rs 20 and Rs 25 lakh in private hospitals, however it costs far less in government facilities. However, waiting lines at government hospitals are frequently lengthy.
In order to increase the number of organ donations, Dr. Sudhir Gupta, an assistant professor of forensic medicine at AIIMS, stressed the necessity of legislative changes. He recommended changes to the 1994 Human Organ Transplant Act to facilitate the extraction of cadaver hearts. Hospitals would have to report all brain deaths and register them with an online central organ registry, according to proposed rules. This would enhance the efficiency and coordination of organ retrieval, donation, and transplant procedures.
In conclusion, the importance of dead organ donations and the necessity for ongoing changes in organ donation procedures and policies throughout India are highlighted by the southern states’ leading role in heart transplantation.
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TIMES OF INDIA
