Organ Transplants no more a hassle for the poor in Telangana Hospitals

Hyderabad: Ever since the launch of Jeevandan organ donation scheme in January 2013, more than 90 per cent of the organ transplantations in Telangana have taken place in private hospitals. While the typical cost of a kidney transplant is between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh, the liver transplant surgery costs nothing less than Rs 20 lakh.

The high costs of transplant surgeries meant that patients in the lower and middle-income bracket did not have access to such hi-tech surgeries. There was a clear disparity, as those who could afford treatment at corporate hospitals opted for transplantation.

While others were left to raise funds by different means, including taking loans from private moneylenders at a high-interest rate. High transplant cost coupled with the reluctance of government hospitals to step up and conduct transplant surgeries had taken away the option of organ transplantation for poor patients in the State.

For instance, out of 434 organs, which were taken up for transplantation between January and December of 2017, only 22 were done at State-run hospitals i.e. NIMS and Osmania General Hospital.

Acknowledging these disparities, the health authorities introduced a series of measures to strengthen transplant services at government hospitals. It is now possible to have free transplant surgeries at all three State-run tertiary hospitals (NIMS, OGH, Gandhi Hospital) for needy patients.

Despite challenges in infrastructure, live liver transplant surgeries and cadaver kidney donations are well developed at OGH. In fact, since the 1980s, the State-run tertiary hospital has managed to conduct over 660 living-related kidney transplantations and nearly 34 cadaver organ donations.

“We were the first in the country to conduct free kidney transplantation in a government hospital in 1982. Despite challenges, we have continued to conduct living-related kidney transplants and even cadaver kidney transplants free of cost to poor patients,” says Superintendent, OGH, Dr B Nagender.

As far as kidney transplants are concerned, the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) has remained at the forefront with over 1,000 kidney  transplant surgeries. The kidney transplant protocols at NIMS are highly evolved, which is why recently the department received the status of ‘Sister Renal Centre’ from International Society of Nephrology (ISN).

Gandhi Hospital, where till now transplant surgeries were not being taken up, has started turning it around. In the last one month, the Nephrology Department, in coordination with Urology and Anaesthesia, conducted three successful cadaver kidney transplant surgeries. The patients who have received cadaver donor kidney have successfully recovered.

In the coming months, Gandhi Hospital is all set to become a transplantation hub with an ability to take up kidney, liver and heart transplantations on a regular basis. The State government has given its nod to construct a centralised operation theatre block at a cost of Rs 33 crore.

Authorities are setting up anywhere between five and six hi-tech modular operation theatres that will allow surgeons to conduct simultaneous multiple organ transplants. Already, the surgeons from Nephrology, Urology and Anaesthesia have successfully conducted three cadaver kidney transplant surgeries for poor patients in the last one month.

“We are hoping to conduct our first liver transplant this month. We have put in place a team that will oversee all the transplant surgeries. We have
definitely made a start and we are keen on continuing with it,” says Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, Dr P Sravan Kumar.
Gandhi Hospital is also upgrading its casualty ward by adding hi-tech equipment and more beds with a cost of Rs 3 crore. “The idea is to provide all medical services at Gandhi Hospital. We will give lifelong drug support free of cost for transplant patients of Gandhi Hospital,” he added.

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