Kerala slates ‘swap donation’ to cut down organ trade

Thiruvananthapuram, April 8: In order to end the ugly organ trade in the state, Kerala has slated a new programme of swap donation purely on humane means. This can prove as a boon to those who are in need of the organs for the sake of living.

According to government data, in India, 2,00,000 people are on the waitlist for a kidney, and 30,000 currently await a liver. Of this startling number, legal donations meet only about 3 to 5 percent of the demand. You can well imagine how the rest of the demand is met.

Through this new programme, the state government is trying to encourage donors to swap their organs with potential matches.

For example, if a parent who is willing to donate a kidney to their child is found to not be a match, then that kidney may be used for a complete stranger, provided anyone related to the stranger can do the same in return for the patient in need.

In order to streamline the process, the Kerala government is setting up the Kerala Network for Organ Sharing (KNOS), which is a nodal agency of the government to ensure that all live organ donations are monitored.

Presently, a total of 1693 patients are on the waiting list for kidney transplants across all blood groups on the official registry of KNOS.