the goan I network
PANAJI
The Federation of Organ and Body Donation has urged Goa Government to fast-track the formation of State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO).
Speaking to the press upon completion of the foot march from Mumbai to Margao for awareness creation about organ and body donation, chief promoter of the Federation Purshottam Pawar said, “We visited villages, hospitals, colleges and senior citizen’s homes. People are interested and only need awareness and clarity on donation procedure.”
The Federation said that it is now exploring ways to reach more people and how to simplify procedures.
Several other members of the Federation urged the state government to instruct hospitals and their doctors to get registered for performing transplant surgeries and to maintain a list through SOTTO for faster donor-recipient matching.
As the Goa Medical College and Hospital is already registered, the Federation has urged the state government to hasten the process for formation of SOTTO to make it easier for people to donate body and organs.
It was informed that hospitals have to be registered with the Directorate of Health Services and only after due inspection, they are certified to carry out transplants.
Doctors also have to be registered for retrieval and transplant surgeries.
In addition to this, recipients have to be registered with SOTTO or its regional or national counterparts to be eligible to receive new organs.
“A body after death can save up to 55 to 56. On the other hand, organs have to be harvested within a few hours after death, such as four hours for the heart, 12 hours for lungs, 24 hours for kidney and 8 hours for liver, four hours for the heart,” said one the members.
