By Gabriela Sierra | Project Communicator
At DTI (Donation and Transplantation Institute), we believe in the power of education, respect, diversity and transparency. Our main goal is - through our project in GlobalGiving, Save 1 Million Lives - to facilitate access to practices and training related to organ donation and transplantation, to healthcare professionals who find themselves in developing countries. With the main goal of raising $50.000, we have been able to grant several scholarships to healthcare professionals living in under-resourced countries in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America.
Last year 2019 was a very exciting one since DTI was able to give another scholarship. This time to Dr. Muralldharan from Kerala, India, an outstanding beneficiary of the DTI-TPM scholarships of 2019 founded by GlobalGiving. He obtained a scholarship worth half of the tuition of the 25th Transplant Procurement Management Advanced International Training Course in October of 2019.
Dr. Muralldharan has a vast and amazing academic curriculum; he has a degree in MBBS, DPM Psychiatry, diploma in Anesthesia, fellowship in Critical Care and a master in Philosophy. His professional career developed by working as a senior intensivist at the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences, at the Multidisciplinary ICU work department. He has a speciality in behavioural and intensive care. He has a background in donor and transplant coordination as well. It is a great honor and achievement for DTI to be able to have amazing candidates, like Dr. Muralldharan, for these scholarships.
This scholarship and training was able to provide and teach Dr. Muralldharan about detection, identification and selection of donors; clinical approach of brain death diagnosis; instrumental tests for brain death diagnosis; donor management; bioethics and legislation in transplantation and other topics that will give him the chance to increase and expand his professional knowledge and skills in organ donation and transplantation. Thus, taking this expertise back to Kerala and applying it at the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences.
Kerala has 35 million inhabitants and claims some of the best health statistics in India, in fact some are similar to those in the high-income countries, and has a deceased organ donation rate of 1.03 per million population, according to the Nepal Journal of Epidemiology. In 2015, there were 218 major organ donations by 72 deceased donors whereas only 29 major organs were donated by 8 deceased donors in 2018, which suggests major limitations of the existing deceased organ donation programme at governmental level. Kerala deceased donor transplant data from the Kerala Network for Organ Sharing, shows that there are currently 797 solid organs and 488 total tissues.
DTI offers, annually, educational and networking opportunities with the aim to support the professional development of its members. The donations to our project Save 1 Million Lives help us promote knowledge to professionals in organ donation and transplantation. We are always opening new spots for people to apply for scholarships to courses and master programs. Thanks to these contributions we keep sharing the gift of education and furthermore continue to save millions of lives.
***Dr. Raman has given us permission to use his picture for this report.
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