3 simultaneous organ transplant in govt hospital brings joy in the ‘city of joy’

Kolkata, July 04: For the first time a government medical college in Kolkata on Wednesday conducted three organ transplant surgeries simultaneously in three different departments. It's a moment of pride and great achievement for Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER).

Reportedly, Anjana Bhowmick (49) had suffered a brain stroke at her Udaynarayanpur home on Sunday. Later, she was brought to Narayarana Superspecialty Hospital (NSH), Howrah. She was declared brain dead on Tuesday and her family consented to donating her organs. Bhowmick's heart, liver and kidneys were fit for transplant.

As per the TOI report, Vatsala Trivedi- one of the pioneers in organ donation thrive in Maharashtra said that "To the best of my knowledge, three organ transplants happening simultaneously in a government medical college has not happened in Maharashtra, which is otherwise doing well in organ donation. What IPGMER has done is a feat. But organ donation movement has to pick up momentum in Bengal."

According to organ allocation norms, the donor hospital should have got the heart. But since NSH did not have a heart transplant facility, the organ had to go to a government hospital. Hence, Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) allocated the heart to SSKM Hospital. While the donor hospital was allowed to retain one kidney the other one was offered to SSKM, the only government hospital where renal transplants are conducted. The liver, too, was allocated to SSKM, which again is the only government facility where liver transplants are conducted.

The SSKM officials had assigned three administrative personnel to work through the night in shifts to coordinate for the retrieval, harvesting, transport and transplant. The transplant teams got down to work on Tuesday evening itself and prepared the recipients for the surgery reported TOI.

"All the three organs have been transplanted successfully. So far, all three recipients are doing well," said Manimoy Banerjee, IPGMER director, and also ROTTO director.

The heart was the first to leave NSH at 8.36 am and reached SSKM in about 8 minutes later. The liver and a kidney followed one after another. While the heart was transplanted into a 30-year-old man, the liver went to a 53-year-old and one kidney to 30-year-old woman. The other kidney was transplanted into a 60-year-old man at NSH.

"I have not heard about three deceased organ transplants being conducted simultaneously a by government medical college in Chennai," said Suresh Rao of Fortis Malar.

Earlier, the city has witnessed several organ transplant cases but all were in private multispeciality hospitals. It is for the first time a government medical college in Kolkata conducted three organ transplant surgeries simultaneously. This was SSKM Hospital's debut heart transplant as also the debut kidney transplant for NSH, Howrah.