India: Parents, wives main kidney donors

[Clark]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Delhi/Parents-wives-main-kidney-donors/articleshow/37157473.cms

Parents, wives main kidney donors
Durgesh Nandan Jha

An analysis of kidney transplant data available at AIIMS shows that the number of siblings donating kidneys has reduced from 30-35% to 10-15% over the last few years. After parents, wives top the list of donors.

The shift in donor profile, doctors say, began mainly after the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, was passed. "The Act gave legal validity to a wife donating organs to her husband and vice-versa. Earlier, a lot of paperwork was required to prove that the woman was donating her organs at her own free will," said Dr Sandeep Aggarwal, professor, department of surgerty at AIIMS.

Transplant surgeons say this trend can be attributed, in part, to a woman's readiness to make a sacrifice. Underlying social pressure also plays a role. In contrast, some studies have shown the number of women receiving organs or undergoing a transplant for organ failure is less than 30%.

A senior doctor said, "A woman never thinks twice when it comes to making a sacrifice for her husband or son. The misconception that donating a portion of an organ could affect a man's health also influences the decision."

According to Dr Sanjay K Agarwal, professor and head of the nephrology department, studies also reveal that wives who donate their organs are more contended and have an increased life span. Their importance in the family goes up too. "Another reason for increased life span of donor wives could be that they undergo a complete health check-up before donating organs. Unfortunately, the number of husbands donating for wives is less," he said.

AIIMS was among the first few hospitals in India to start a kidney transplant program but it depended mainly on cadaver donations and a few live donors. Recently, AIIMS had started swap-kidney transplant to increase the donor pool. "After a transplant, the chances of a patient surviving for an year are 96-97%—which is comparable to international standards. The chances of a patient surviving for five years are 70-80% while the chance of a patient surviving for 10 years is 60%," said Dr Agarwal.