COPING WITH the death of a loved one can be overwhelming and, for the family of a potential donor, the process of donating organs can be stressful. At the centre of it all is a crucial workforce called transplant coordinators.
Considering the need to build a dedicated team to facilitate this process, the Pune wing of the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC), Chennai-based Mohan Foundation, and other national and regional organ and tissue transplant organisations, have been conducting week-long extensive training programmes for transplant coordinators.
“Transplant coordinators are exposed to the entire process from identifying the donor to paperwork training. These are extensive training programmes with lectures and interactive sessions, including by senior coordinators and government officials who are key members in the transplant process,” said Dr Sheetal Dhadphale, Secretary, ZTCC, Pune zone. Dhadphale is also Director of Transplant Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Sahyadri Hospitals.
So far, more than 300 transplant coordinators have been trained in Pune and across Maharashtra. “Here, we train our transplant coordinators to encourage and convince distressed families that organ donation can change and transform lives. This is the gift of life,” said Aarti Gokale, central coordinator, ZTCC, Pune.
ZTCC is a non-profit designated by the Central Government to maintain a list of organs from deceased donors and a fair system of allocation. The Pune wing is among the four ZTCCs set up in Maharashtra in 2002.
It has been involved in identifying deceased donors, authorising and allocating organs, and creating a smooth organ recovery and a system of encouraging non-transplant organ retrieval centres.
Recently, it conducted a five-day training programme to re-emphasise that transplant coordinators need to be patient and counselling can begin by expressing sympathy and that good that can emerge from tragedy. The coorrdinators are mainly social workers or part of the health workforce, including paramedics and nurses.
The ZTCC Pune zone covers 46 hospitals including in Pune, Satara, Karad, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahmednagar that are permitted to perform kidney, liver, heart, lung, small bowel and pancreas transplants.
According to current data with ZTCC-Pune zone, 1,580 patients require a kidney each, 550 need a liver and 49 need a new heart. In the last five years, a total of 271 deceased organ donors have been registered. While 34 heart transplants were performed, there have been 334 kidney transplants and an identical number of liver transplants. Two heart-and-lung transplants and one lung transplant have also been performed in the zone.
There was a brief lull because of the Covid pandemic, say ZTCC Pune zone officials. “We have stepped up awareness programmes and strategies to encourage as many people to pledge organs and convince family members who have lost their loved ones to allow the donation of organs,” Dhadphale said.
ZTCC Pune is also supported by the initiatives of NGOs like ReBirth Foundation. “We want to create an impact by clearing confusions or myths about organ donation,” said Rajesh Shetty, one of the founders at ReBirth. The NGO was involved in organising a Bharat Organ Yatra with ace Pune cyclist Preeti Maske, a Guinness record holder, reaching India from Bhutan on May 3. “We hope this encourages others to join the awareness mission for organ donation,” Shetty said.
First published on: 09-05-2023 at 10:26 IST