Haryana: FMRI hosts summit on organ donation

Gurgaon: Fortis Organ Retrieval and Transplant (FORT)  hosted India's first national summit on best practices in organ and tissue donation, which saw participants from private and government agencies from all the states gather at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) here.

"Specialists and healthcare professionals from different hospitals need to know all aspects around organ donation and transplant to achieve best results and improve outcomes," Marti Manyalich, President of International Society for Organ Donation and Procurement -- a Canada based organisation which encourages the growth of organ transplantation globally, said in a statement.

The day-long summit followed the launch of the "Wall of Tribute"  to pay homage to those families who had the courage to say yes to deceased organ donation, the report said.

"We hope that this initiative helps us bridge the wide gap between demand and supply of organs significantly through knowledge-sharing and dissemination of the right messages to larger stakeholders," added Avnish Seth, Director at FORT.

Experts at the summit discussed new initiatives such as use of smartphones for counselling families of donors, experiences with hand and face transplant, organ care systems for transporting organs after donation and the challenges faced in transportation by road as well as air.

According to various health experts, only 0.08 per cent of Indians donate their organs.

The low proportion of organ donors in India can largely be attributed to ignorance, superstition and an absence of conducive regulatory framework.