Thiruvananthapuram:

The first organ transplant unit in government sector will be inaugurated at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on Wednesday.

The unit will have liver transplant and cross matching facilities. “This will be the first such unit in the government sector in south India,” said Kerala Network of Organ Sharing (KNOS) nodal officer Dr Noble Gracious.

The biggest boost will be the tissue matching unit. The state is now depended on one or two private hospitals for its tissue matching needs, he added.

The cross matching or tissue matching is the test conducted on the donor and recipient to find whether the organs to be transplanted would match.

The cross matching is a very sensitive and final test done for any type of organ transplant, including kidney. “The cross matching for medical college hospitals where kidney transplants are currently performed are done at the Amrita Hospital in Kochi.

When it comes to the government sector, the cost of the test can be considerably brought down,” said Dr Gracious. All the equipment and other infrastructure are ready at the unit. We will be fully operational from day one, he added. The unit is part of a health department initiative whereby three private hospitals have agreed to help set up the facilities, share expertise and train doctors for performing liver transplantation surgeries.

The hospitals- -Lakeshore hospital, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences will share their expertise with the MCH and also provide all assistance in performing liver transplants.

The experts in liver transplant surgeries from these three hospitals will be performing the surgeries at the MCH initially. This would also be an opportunity for an in-house training for the doctors at the MCH.

Once liver transplant begins in the government sector, the cost involved could be considerably brought down. The surgery costs between Rs 35 lakh and Rs 40 lakh in the private sector. It may be below Rs 20 lakh in the government sector.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Thiruvananthapuram /  by G Rajiv, TNN / February 02nd, 201y6