Maharashtra’s State Authorisation Committee refusal to agree to a “domino kidney transplant” on Sunday has led Mumbai’s medical fraternity to strongly say that the law needs to be changed to save lives of more patients who are waiting for donor kidneys.

The committee has currently refused permission to one of the pairs queued up. The reason given is very petty – the pair queued up are a maternal uncle and his neice and as per lawy they cannot be treated as close relatives. Doctors are saying that by amending the law three patients who are on dialysis can be saved, making this the country’s third successful domino transplant involving three donors and three recipents.

What is Domino Kidney Transplant? 

Dr. Jayesh Lele, President of the IMA chapter of Mahrashtra had strong words in support of the domino transplant, “The state government should rethink their decision because it’s not acceptable. They must amend the law for this procedure. We agree that law is needed to prevent any illegal transplant but it should not be a hurdle in genuine cases. The government should see all the parameters and take a call on it,”

In the past, denial of permission for domino kidney transplant had proved fatal when a recipient from Andhra Pradesh died and as a result of this the entire procedure got stalled affecting four other patients. Dr Umesh Oza, ex-president, Indian Society of Organ Transplantation, said, “The government should look at the broader side in such a case. The law is more or less for preventing illegal transplantation. The government committee, while giving permission, should ensure that there is no malpractice and the donor is willingly giving his organ to the recipient. Such a practice surely benefits families.”

In India, kidney transplant is performed as per the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota), 1994, which was amended in 2014. The law says the donors and recipients should be close relatives in domino kidney transplant. “The law is to help legal transplants. There should be a right to appeal against the State Authorisation Committee. The authority must involve an IAS officer, a nephrologist and a urologist who have command over this subject. Just because of a small technical issue they should not refuse permission,” said Dr Sudhir Naik, president, Association of Medical Consultants. The previous domino transplant consisting of six donors and six recipients was performed on January 25, 2014, in Mumbai.

Original Source: dnaindia.com
Image Credits: dnaindia.com, livingkidneydonor.org

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