UP’s first tissue bank to come up at Lucknow SGPGIMS

Tissue donations can heal wounded soldiers, patients of debilitating illnesses

LUCKNOW: The Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) will establish a tissue bank to preserve cornea, stem cells, heart valve, bone and skin from donors. The bank, the first to come up in Uttar Pradesh, is expected to be set up sometime next year, said officials. PGI will also soon start a toll-free number for those interested in donating tissues (of their departed kin) and the potential recipients.

Tissue donations can help heal injured athletes suffering with torn ligaments or soldiers wounded in combat in addition to treating many debilitating illnesses, said doctors.

“A single tissue donor can heal more than 75 lives,” said Dr Harshvardhan, head of hospital administration, PGI, while speaking at a dissemination seminar organised at the institute’s convention centre on Saturday. The seminar aimed at sensitising the physicians, surgeons and other stakeholders involved in organ transplant procedures in the state. “Tissue donation can dramatically improve the life quality of recipients. It can even help save lives,” said Dr Harshvardhan. Institute director Prof Rakesh Kapoor said, “There are many tissues that can be donated to save lives. These include skin (for burn patients), tendons (for those with joint problems), cornea (for eyesight), veins (to re-establish circulation), heart valves and bones. The tissue bank will benefit patients in serious or even life-threatening medical situations.” Doctors said that the donations had to be initiated within 24 hours of a person’s death. “Unlike organs, donated tissues can be processed and stored for an extended period of time. Most people are potential tissue donors at the time of their death,” said a doctor at the seminar.

The Transplantation of Human Organs Act and Rules, as laid down by the Government of India, governs the entire administrative and legal spectrum related to organ transplantation. A three-tier national networking system -National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), Regional Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), and State Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) -- was established across India.

The seventh nationwide and the only SOTTO for Uttar Pradesh has already been notified to be established at PGI, Lucknow, by the ministry of health and family health central government. It is expected to be established sometime next year, according to officials of the institute.

THE TRANSPLANTATION OF HUMAN ORGANS ACT AND RULES, AS LAID DOWN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, GOVERNS THE ENTIRE ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL SPECTRUM RELATED TO ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION.