Fearing second wave of COVID, organ transplantation in government hospitals not likely to resume anytime soon

Coimbatore: Inspite of dip in new Covid-19 positive cases in Coimbatore district, health experts fear that there might be a spurt of second wave, as people are very callous in adhering to the protocols of wearing masks, sanitising and maintaining social distancing.


Coimbatore: Inspite of dip in new Covid-19 positive cases in Coimbatore district, health experts fear that there might be a spurt of second wave, as people are very callous in adhering to the protocols of wearing masks, sanitising and maintaining social distancing. In some places in the State, there has been negligible spike of positive cases, just after the festivity.

It was on Saturday that the State witnessed a spike in cases after weeks. Tamil Nadu witnessed 1,912 new cases and 12 deaths, taking the case tally to 7.56 lakh and 11,466 fatalities.

While healthcare experts and government officials continue to study the spread of COVID spread, organ donation surgeries might not resume anytime soon. Doctors opine that with the cases oscillating, it is highly risky to perform such surgeries.

While the government and many private hospitals have postponed organ transplant surgeries starting this March due to the pandemic, healthcare experts say it is unlikely to resume it, due to the increase in COVID cases.

Dr. Balajinathan, Dean of Government Super Speciality Hospital in Salem says that most of the surgeons are assigned for COVID duty, which is also one of the reason for organ transplants.

He added that the positive cases have marginally increased after the festive season, as people are seen flouting norms. He also stated that out of 650 beds in the COVID ward at Salem GH, almost 250 beds have been filled up, which according to him, is the result of crowds during the festivals.

Unclear about the number of counts of total surgeries performed in a year, Dr. Balajinathan says that multiple organ transplant surgeries have been stopped from the month of February, even before the pandemic. It is told that the number of recipients on the waiting list for organs are less.

A surgeon working in a private hospital here in the city, who is a reliable source, said that even though few cases have been attended by the surgeons in private hospitals, it is still risky to perform organ transplant surgeries, as there is high risk for the donors and recipients to get infected post surgery.

The surgeon told that they need to test the swab of donors to ensure if they have been exposed to the virus and added that it is not recommended to all, as they have to be on immunosuppressants.

Commenting on this, Kalidas, Dean of CMCH also cited the pandemic, as the only reason to hold organ transplant surgeries. According to him, CMCH has been performing notable renal transplant surgeries, which had come to a standstill after the pandemic.

He added that due to the fluctuating nature of the cases, CMCH will most likely to re-commence organ transplant surgeries starting January 2021. However, he reiterated that they will resume surgeries only after witnessing NIL COVID cases and after consulting with DME.

However, Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) has permitted hospitals to resume organ transplant surgeries on their own will but with COVID cases still prevailing, it is unlikely that government hospitals and several private hospitals will start organ transplant surgeries, soon.

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