Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai in collaboration with Navi Mumbai Police & Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC) organized an awareness program on Organ Donation

The initiative addressed more than 60 police officials from Navi Mumbai to generate awareness on the medico-legal and compliance procedures that precede a transplant. The aim of the workshop was to make organ donation seamless and painless for all branches of police and donor families, allowing them to realize the noble act of organ donation. As a part of this initiative, Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai provided a platform for organised training sessions on organ donation, transplantation and the medical and compliance processes involved with this.

The programme was attended by several dignitaries like Shri Hemant Nagrale, Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai; Dr. Gauri Rathod, Asst. Director, Directorate of Health Services; Dr. Sujata Patwardhan, Consultant Renal Surgeon, KEM Hospital and currently representing ROTTO, SOTTO; Dr. S.K. Mathur, Consultant Surgeon and Secretary of ZTCC; Dr. Narendra Trivedi, CEO-Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai; and Prof. Dr Darius F Mirza, Head, HPB and Multi-Organ Transplant Surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, and Professor of HPB and Transplant Surgery, University of Birmingham UK.

Shri Hemant Nagrale, Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai, said, “There is a need to have more awareness and clarity in communication in the organ donation pathway. Some of the challenges facing organ transplantation in our country are the low availability of cadaver donor organs. With an ever-increasing spectrum of diseases, organ failures and accidents, the need for voluntary organ donation is high. This programme aims to bring about a positive change to the current transplant scenario by inspiring people to pledge for organ donation after death and bridge the huge gap between need and availability of organs. It is important for the hospitals to motivate people to donate organs as well as to understand the value of organ donation in the life of an individual.”

Prof. Dr Darius F Mirza, Head, HPB and Multi-Organ Transplant Surgeon at Apollo Hospitals, and Professor of HPB and Transplant Surgery, University of Birmingham UK said, “Over 300,000 people die in our country due to lack of organ availability. Organ transplantation is an established lifesaving medical treatment for end-stage disease with most patients making a full recovery. Cadaveric organ donation is an essential part of organ transplantation. Awareness about brain death and the generous act of organ donation amongst doctors, hospital administrators, and authorities including the police forces, media and the general public are required for us to be able to achieve organ transplantation in numbers large enough to help most patients.”

“Today’s programme aims to create awareness on organ donation among all the various bodies who are essential in facilitating organ donation. It is imperative for all of us to know the medico-legal framework that our country has laid down around organ donation-how it works and what are the responsibilities that each party is required to discharge. We are thankful to Shri. Hemant Nagrale, Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai and his officers and the ZTCC for facilitating this workshop so speedily. We believe we can also help smaller hospitals with their intensive care units in their desire to become organ retrieval centres. This will allow the noble act of organ donation to be carried out as per the donor family’s wishes at the donor hospital without the need to consider transfer of the donor to a recognized hospital”, said Dr. Narendra Trivedi, CEO-Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai.