Now Reading: Organ shortage: 5,000 in Mumbai await transplants, 4,000 dead in Telangana
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Organ shortage: 5,000 in Mumbai await transplants, 4,000 dead in Telangana
Organ shortage: 5,000 in Mumbai await transplants, 4,000 dead in Telangana
Nearly 5,000 patients in Mumbai are waiting for organ transplants, but only one in ten receives a donor organ, according to the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC). Dr S. K. Mathur, ZTCC…
The Story in Brief
Nearly 5,000 patients in Mumbai are waiting for organ transplants, but only one in ten receives a donor organ, according to the Zonal Transplant Coordination Centre (ZTCC). Dr S. K. Mathur, ZTCC president, told Freepress Journal that 90% of families who have benefited from a transplant do not pledge their own organs. The city has recorded 40 deceased donors this year, enabling 115 transplants. Across Maharashtra, 118,913 people have formally pledged organs.
In Telangana, Times of India reports that 4,106 of the 19,386 patients registered for transplants between 2013 and 2026 died while waiting. Despite the state winning national awards for the highest cadaver donation rate, only one in four registered patients received a transplant. Officials blame low participation from government hospitals and a reluctance to declare brain-dead patients. Notably, not a single relative of a transplant recipient has pledged to donate organs.
The Indian Opinion
The headlines about rising organ donations and national awards for Telangana create a comforting narrative of progress. But the raw data tells a different story: one in five registered patients in Telangana died waiting, and in Mumbai, 90% of families who benefited from a transplant do not pledge their own organs. The real test is not the number of pledges registered online, but how many of those pledges convert into actual donations when a brain-dead patient is identified. Until every hospital with 100 beds is required to have an organ retrieval centre and trained counsellors, the gap between award-winning statistics and lives lost will remain a scandal.
Sources (2): freepressjournal.in, timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
