With over 90 transplants in 2015 alone, Coimbatore stands tall in a second position in organ donation and transplantation in the entire state.  This amounts to almost 30 per cent of the State’s share.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently appreciated the efforts of Tamil Nadu in the 13^th edition of the ‘Mann Ki Batt’ programme.

With the involvement of nearly 55 hospitals, the Department of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of Tamil Nadu, had successfully saved lives through the State Cadaver Transplant Programme.

According to the official website of the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu, more than 50 per cent of the transplants occur in the North Zone.  Chennai sees much more through its 20 approved hospitals.

The District has 8 specialty hospitals for kidney transplants, 5 for liver, 4 for heart and 3 for lung transplants. According to the website, 25 per cent of the total donors in the state were from hospitals in Coimbatore between April 2014 and March 2015.

Of the total number of transplants in Coimbatore between April 2014 and March 2015 a total of 83 kidneys, 30 livers, 3 hearts and 2 lungs were successfully transplanted in hospitals in Coimbatore with the heart and lung transplants done in the Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH). In 2015 alone, Coimbatore hospitals have successfully harvested organs through 61 cadaver transplantation, taking the number to 51 kidneys, 28 livers, 15 hearts and 2 lungs.

Doctors from Coimbatore claim that the achievement had been successful because of the awareness among the public and the technology that is available.

Dr. S. Vivekanandan from KMCH liver institute, who had done more than 30 liver transplant surgeries said that Coimbatore was the best place for transplants outside Chennai. “People from this belt need not go elsewhere for transplants because we have all the facilities in Coimbatore. Even people from the neighbouring state Kerala approach us for such transplants,” he said.

He further added that the team of doctors in Coimbatore was also a major reason for the success. Dr. Ilangovan Veerappan, Chief Nephrologist from KG Hospital, said that in most cases, the family members of the brain dead patients agree to cadaver transplantation. “We give 3 options to the family members after the patient is declared brain dead. We propose to keep them on ventilation until death; take them to Government Hospital or request to harvest the organs. And, 9 out of 10 cases agree for cadaver transplantation,” he said.

“The awareness about organ donation keeps increasing, however, with the number of diseases increasing, we fear that we might have poor donor efficiency in the future,” said the surgeon.