SHASHWAT GUPTA RAY
Nine cadaver or gan donations have success fully helped save 18 lives in the State through kidney transplants between 2019 and 2025, highlighting the immense potential of organ donation in saving lives. One transplant was con ducted by Manipal Hospital Goa in 2018, while eight were undertaken under the aegis of the State Organ and Tis sue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) Goa, which was es tablished in December 2019 to facilitate ethical organ and tissue transplants. A cadaver donor (or de ceased donor) is someone who donates organs or tis sues after being declared brain-stem dead. A single do nor can save or significantly improve multiple lives by do nating vital organs such as the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs and pancreas, as well as tissues like corneas, skin and bone. “Since 2019, SOTTO has coordinated eight donations, resulting in the successful uti lisation of 29 organs,” said Dr Preeti Varghese, Joint Direc tor, SOTTO Goa, located at the Goa Medical College (GMC). “To date, 16 lives have been saved through kidney dona tions, with one kidney transplanted into each patient suf fering from kidney failure,” she added. The remaining 13 organs were coordinated by the Re gional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO) and the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisa tion (NOTTO) for use in other parts of the country due to the lack of local transplant facilities. “Currently, three hospitals in Goa are registered for or gan donation, including Goa Medical College in the public sector, where the necessary facilities have been provided,” Dr Varghese said at the Organ Donation Conclave held by Manipal Hospital Goa in association with the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM), Goa Chapter. Dr Amol Mahaldar, Lead Consultant – Nephrology and Transplant Physician at Manipal Hospital Goa and Coordi nator of the Organ Donation Cell, Indian Medical Associa tion, Goa, said that more than 60 people are currently on the waiting list. “Currently, over 60 individuals are on the State waiting list. While we have completed nine transplant cases (including one at Manipal Hospital before the establishment of SOTTO) over the last six years, this has benefited only 18 recipients. As the waiting list continues to grow, a newly registered pa tient may face a wait of more than 10 years — a period many patients unfortunately do not survive,” Dr Mahaldar said. Data suggests that Goa records approximately 250 fatal head injuries annually. Roughly one-third of these cases — about 80 individuals — are likely to result in brain death. “While the government must continue to prioritise road safety and high-quality ICU care to improve patient surviv al, we must also address the failure to identify potential or gan donors. Currently, we identify fewer than 10 per cent of potential donor cases. If we were able to identify even half of these cases and achieve a 50 per cent consent rate, Goa could see around 20 donations annually. This would provide 40 kidneys, effectively clearing the current waiting list within two years,” he said
