Transplantation – Beyond the Knife
A mother’s celebration of the wellness of her child with whom she traveled across countries to get a liver transplant (and who has apparently broken an arm playing football four years down the line).
Solid organ transplantation—liver, kidney, heart and lungs—has given a new lease of life to countless millions and their near and dear ones.
The same surgery has generated new-age moral and ethical questions—questions hitherto unthinkable in human society.
The Questions Are Easy. The Answers Are Known?
Who needs an organ?
How does one get a solid organ, or a part of it, from another human being?
Who donates?
Who decides allocation—who gets the organ: a sicker patient or a less sick person?
What is the price?
Who pays—there are no free lunches!
Should a human being undergo surgery to donate a part of his liver or one of his kidneys to another?
What motivates a person to donate?
Is it money or love?
Are human beings capable of infinite altruism—to give without expectation of return?
Should monetary deals be a part of organ donation?
Where does a sick person in desperate need of a heart or a liver draw the line?
Discussions at the DICG–NATCO Roundtable
All such issues were discussed threadbare by a group of concerned world citizens during the DICG–NATCO Roundtable.
Photo: Declaration of Istanbul.
The interaction brought to the fore the common man’s concern.
Who Is Responsible for Health?
Who is responsible for health?
Who is accountable?
Is it the state or the individual that is responsible?
The moral dichotomy of the phrase “private healthcare.”
Stories That Leave a Lasting Impression
A father made an actionable and most poignant suggestion.
He had donated his brain-dead son’s organs to other needy individuals. It was an act of love. He probably hoped that his son would live in the body of another person.
He suggested planting trees in the name of organ donors.
Perspectives from Experts
Dhvani Mehta raised the topic of justice in transplantation.
Dr. Mala Ramanathan elaborated on the public health perspective of transplantation.
Photo: Architects of the Transplantation Act in attendance.
Yashobhoomi Convention Center Sets the Stage
The Yashobhoomi Convention Center provided a spectacular venue for the programme.
The scale of the convention centre is mind-blowing. It is in tune with the demands of modern India.
Photo: Yashobhoomi Convention.
Final Thoughts
The event raises questions about healthcare access.
Questions which we conveniently brush under the carpet while attending swanky private hospitals.
All the while hypocritically lamenting the absence of government-provided healthcare.
