Save 1 million lives

REPORT: Increase in the organ donation rates in Kerala

*Dr. Muralee has granted us permission to us his complete name on this report*

Organ shortage is a major reason for the low number of organ transplants in India. An estimated four thousand people die in road traffic accidents in Kerala, about 70% of them could be declared brain dead and become potential donors. Due to the lack of professionals trained on deceased organ donation, all those potential donors are missed. Kerala achieved the highest number of donors in 2015, but in 2016 there was an important decline due to legal implications on brain death (BD) certification. In November of 2018, the Family and Health Welfare Department approved a government order to appoint an in-hospital transplant procurement manager (TPM) to coordinate potential donors at intensive care units in government medical colleges. As a consequence, a TPM was designated to create the first hospital-based organ procurement unit in a third level transplant hospital with a total of 560 beds and 60 ICU beds. The procurement manager became actively involved in the donor identification, supporting BD diagnosis and approaching donors’ families.

As a result, in 2018, 37% of the possible donors were converted to potential donors vs. 42% in 2019, this resulted in a 5% increase. From the total potential donors declared, 25% were actual donors, the rest of the cases were discarded primarily because of family refusals (religious barriers, inconsistencies among relatives, apathetic attitude towards the DP).

DTI Community, along with DTI Foundation have the mission of saving lives. Our way of doing this is by promoting knowledge transfer through our training courses in order to have more competent professionals specialized on organ donation and transplantation. It has been through our project in GlobalGiving, Save 1 Million Lives, that we have been able to grant various scholarships to healthcare professionals from all over the world. In doing so, we have created amazing relationships and a strong and vast network of friends, alumni and volunteers all inspired to save lives.

On October 2019, we granted a scholarship for the 25th TPM Advanced International Training Course, to Dr. Muraleedharan, intensivist from Kerala (India)(*Dr. Muralee has granted us permission to us his complete name on this report*). His time in Barcelona was of much importance to all of us.  Not only did he gain important training and knowledge for better organ donation and transplantation procedures and practices in his region, but also a strong bond with DTI Community family and staff. We communicate periodically and he reports to us about his experience in KIMS hospital, where he currently works, as well as updates on how they have been able to improve the methodology in regards to organ donation and transplantation in the region of Kerala. According to data from 2019, there were 10 organ donors, and this year 2020 they have had 6 organ donors so far. We can see a clear increase in the organ donation rates in the region since Dr. Muraleedharan participated in the TPM Advanced International Training Course.

The organ donation conversion rate increased from 0% in 2018 to 25 % in 2019, and we expect it to keep increasing on 2020.

*Dr. Muralee has granted us permission to us his complete name on this report*

To conclude, the role of the TPM provided clinical leadership and raised the value of deceased organ donation. Committed medical teams in addition to an efficient system helped reestablish the families´ trust to avoid the leakage of donors. Organ donation specialized training and international collaboration alongside institutional and regulatory support from the government are essential elements for the reconstruction of the DP in Kerala. 

In Kerala, deceased donor organ transplantation is suddenly hogging the limelight, raising hopes of a new revival for the State’s scheme Mrithasanjeevani. The State has done seven transplants this year, five of them in April-May in the cusp of COVID-19.

We are glad to have results like the ones in Kerala, this is great inspiration to keep going further with our project, Save 1 Million Lives. The donations to our project help us promote knowledge to professionals such as Dr Muraleedharan. 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 continue to save millions of lives.