CMCH gets nod to perform liver, heart transplants
TNN | Feb 6, 2020, 04.35 AM IST
The transplant authority of Tamil Nadu has given permission to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) to perform liver and heart transplants. Now that the hospital has performed its first cadaver harvest surgery, it plans to start liver transplant programme as well soon. The hospital had applied for permission to start liver transplants in 2018-end.
Speaking to TOI, dean of the hospital Dr B Ashokan said the liver from the donor, Siva Perumal, had been allotted to a patient in Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, because the donor’s blood group did not match with those of their liver failure patients. “We started our liver treatment programme around a year back, and some of our patients have also been put on TRANSTAN waiting list. However, the top patient who was ready did not match with the donor, so we had to give away the liver,” he said. “However, we hope that the next time we get a cadaver organ harvesting in our hospital, we can retain the liver for our own patients,” he added.
Liver transplants in the district and region are only being performed by private hospitals. “We have well-equipped intensive care units, ventilators, staff and surgeons who have trained at Stanley Medical College and under liver transplant expert Dr Mohammed Rela himself. We have created an exclusive ICU for liver transplant patients to prevent the risk of infections,” said Dr Ashokan, during an earlier interaction with TOI.
The GH performing transplants is critical, because a liver transplant costs at least Rs 25 lakh in private hospitals and a kidney transplant costs Rs 3.5 lakh. Though both procedures are covered by the Tamil Nadu Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, many hospitals perform very few procedures under the government insurance. “The state insurance scheme rarely covers 75% of all costs incurred, and we are not allowed to demand extra payments also. So, we have a limit on the number of cases done under the insurance scheme and some patients have to be refused because of it,” said a coordinator of a multi-specialty hospital on Avinashi Road.
TNN | Feb 6, 2020, 04.35 AM IST
The transplant authority of Tamil Nadu has given permission to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) to perform liver and heart transplants. Now that the hospital has performed its first cadaver harvest surgery, it plans to start liver transplant programme as well soon. The hospital had applied for permission to start liver transplants in 2018-end.
Speaking to TOI, dean of the hospital Dr B Ashokan said the liver from the donor, Siva Perumal, had been allotted to a patient in Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, because the donor’s blood group did not match with those of their liver failure patients. “We started our liver treatment programme around a year back, and some of our patients have also been put on TRANSTAN waiting list. However, the top patient who was ready did not match with the donor, so we had to give away the liver,” he said. “However, we hope that the next time we get a cadaver organ harvesting in our hospital, we can retain the liver for our own patients,” he added.
Liver transplants in the district and region are only being performed by private hospitals. “We have well-equipped intensive care units, ventilators, staff and surgeons who have trained at Stanley Medical College and under liver transplant expert Dr Mohammed Rela himself. We have created an exclusive ICU for liver transplant patients to prevent the risk of infections,” said Dr Ashokan, during an earlier interaction with TOI.
The GH performing transplants is critical, because a liver transplant costs at least Rs 25 lakh in private hospitals and a kidney transplant costs Rs 3.5 lakh. Though both procedures are covered by the Tamil Nadu Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, many hospitals perform very few procedures under the government insurance. “The state insurance scheme rarely covers 75% of all costs incurred, and we are not allowed to demand extra payments also. So, we have a limit on the number of cases done under the insurance scheme and some patients have to be refused because of it,” said a coordinator of a multi-specialty hospital on Avinashi Road.
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