Umbrella body to organise, boost organ transplant in UP

LUCKNOW: In what may give the much needed push to organ transplantation activities in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has decided to set up the State Organ Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), a state-level body that can revolutionize the sector in a big way.
Additional chief secretary, medical education, Dr Rajneesh Dube said: “Slated to come up at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), the UP SOTTO aims to formalise the system of organ and tissue procurement and its distribution for transplantation.”

He added that the body would also work to train the required manpower.It will also work towards the promotion of cadaveric (deceased) organ and tissue donation which will make it extremely easy for patients in need.
The body will also monitor organ and tissue transplant services and bring about policy and programme corrections or changes whenever needed to protect the vulnerable poor from organ trafficking.
From the patient’s point of view, the system will simplify a number of things.
“SOTTO will keep all the information in one place and follow the rules which were made by the national body. We will be working as the organ banking nodal centre. The website of SOTTO will soon be created by the hospital administration so that the patient can get all the details related to organ transplant on a single click,” said Dr Rajesh Harshvardhan, head of hospital administration department at SGPGI.
The institutes’s director Prof RK Dhiman said, “An umbrella body will address all the loose ends that impede the development of UP as an organ transplantation centre. Once in place, we will look forward to diversifying from renal transplants to liver, pancreas and even heart in the days to come. The institute will hold awareness and sensitisation campaigns too.”
Besides connecting government institutions, the UP SOTTO will also bring private hospitals under its umbrella. In all, 26 institutions will join hands for the cause. On Saturday, SGPGI will conduct the first virtual dialogue on SOTTO which will have representation from over a dozen hospitals.
A huge demand and supply gap for organ donation exists in Indian states as per data from Union health ministry.