Doctors from Fortis Hospital Mulund, Mumbai raise awareness about Organ Donation in Raipur, felicitate donors & recipients for being the gui

Raipur, Chhattisgarh, August 12^th 2021: To highlight the significance of organ donation, and to celebrate the courageous donors & recipients who underwent Liver Transplant surgery in Mumbai, Liver specialists led by Dr Swapnil Sharma, hosted a felicitation ceremony today. Liver recipients Piyush Kundu (2.5yr old from Raipur) and his donor Laxmi Sarkar, Siddharth Yadav (11yr old from Bilaspur) and his donor Purnima Yadav, Tanmay Devangan (15yr old from Ranigaon) and his donor Tarun Devangan came in with their family to support the initiative.

The initiative led by Dr Swapnil Sharma, Consultant-Liver Transplant & HPB Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, Mumbai was hosted on the eve of World Organ Donation Day 2021. The initiative was aimed at highlighting the plight of recipients who needed life saving organ transplants, and the woes of those who were not able to access healthcare services in the past 16months. While the number of people waitlisted for organ transplant has gone up, fear amongst donor families has set in, leading to a steady decline in both living and cadaveric donations.

Dr Swapnil Sharma, Consultant-Liver Transplant & HPB Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, Mumbai spoke at the occassion, “In India, the cause of organ donation has gradually and progressively gained momentum, but the COVID19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to this effort. With continuous efforts made by governing bodies and the healthcare providers, we continue to see more and more families coming forward to support this noble cause. However, the cadaveric donation numbers have dropped significantly during the pandemic; this has increased the dependency in living-donor Liver transplants”.

“Chattisgarh has high incidence of Alcoholic & NASH related Liver Cirrhosis among adults & Biliary Atresia and Wilson’s Disease amongst children. These conditions, if not detected at an early stage, will make Liver transplants a necessity survival. While awareness about organ donation has gained momentum all over India & Chhattisgarh, however transplants are yet to pick pace. Through this initiative, we bring our Liver Care expertise to the residents of Chhattisgah” added Dr Swapnil Sharma.

Owing to the growing need for organ transplants in the state of Chhattisgarh, the state government has introduced the Cadaveric Organ Donation Act to improve and enable more lifesaving transplants. Fortis Hospital Mulund, Mumbai in line with this announcement, has strengthened the Liver Care & Transplant Program in Raipur, to meet the growing demand for specialized care.

Patient narratives shared during today’s event described the agony of patients with chronic Liver ailments, the plight of their families, and the heartwrenching wait for matching donors.

Pooja, baby Piyush’s aunt narrates, “Piyush (now 2.5 yrs old) was born with Biliary Atresia and underwent a Liver transplant operation when he was just 6mnths old. Without the transplant his chances of survival were slim; he was critical. His deteriorating health condition was heart-breaking. Piyush’s grandmother (my mother) offered to donate a part of her Liver. Initially, we had many questions around organ donation, like the quality of life of my mother & nephew, organ rejection, survival span etc. However, Dr Sharma explained the processes and cleared our doubts. After the transplant, my nephew has been free from his illness; my mother too is in good health”.

Tanmay, a 15yr old standard 10 student residing at Ranigaon village in Chhattisgarh had been falling ill since he was 3yrs old. He had been hospitalized several times, and when he was 8yrs old he was diagnosed with Wilson’s Disease. As he continued treatment at a hospital in Vellore, he was referred to Dr Swapnil sharma in Raipur. By the time Tanmay’s family finally consulted Dr Sharma, his Liver was vastly damaged. Despite his critical condition, Dr Sharma and his team managed to perform a lifesaving Liver Transplant, as Tanmay’s elder brother Tarun offered to donate a part of his Liver. Tanmay too is now free from Wilson’s Disease and is doing well in academics.  

Tanmay’s and Piyush’s story is the epitome of how patients in India run pillar to post to get appropriate medical aid. It also teaches us a great lesson on the biggest act of kindness - Organ donation.