42 cadaveric kidney transplants conducted

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling said on Monday that 42 cadaveric kidney transplants and six cadaveric liver transplants have been conducted in the State so far. The minister, however, did not mention since when the transplants were conducted.

In a written statement to the State Assembly, Mahaling said one heart, two lungs and six livers were shifted to other States from Odisha for transplantation. Brain death declarations are being made following the Transplantation of Human Organ and Tissues Act, 1994, and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, he said.

The minister informed the Assembly that nine government and private hospitals of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar have been permitted to declare the brain stem death of a patient in Odisha. In recognition of the sacrifice and courage of those who save the lives of others by donating their organs, the Odisha government in February last year announced that their last rites would be performed with State honours.

The State government set up the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) in 2019 to make the process of organ donation easier. The government has also instituted the Suraj Award for organ donors in 2020 to encourage organ donation.

The donors’ families are given a cash award of Rs 5 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF), and the families of organ donors are felicitated by the State, on the occasion of World Organ Donation Day (August 13), every year.