The Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian said on Sunday that the state government in Coimbatore is taking steps to enhance the number of organ transplants in government hospitals.

Speaking to media outside of a review conference with deans of government medical colleges at Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), the minister said that following the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of procedures in government hospitals decreased.

Mr. Subramanian said “Several people are on the waiting list to get vital organs from donors. To put things in perspective, the state currently has 6,483 people waiting for kidney transplantation, 380 people for liver transplantation, 43 people for heart and 42 people for lung transplantation. To help the people on the waiting list, we have expedited the procedures.” 

Under the chief minister’s comprehensive health insurance scheme (CMCHIS), 588 people received new lives from 479 organs donated by 114 brain dead patients in the last 14 months alone in government facilities. Additionally, 1,524 brain-dead persons across the state had donated 5,557 essential between July 2022 and 2008.

The minister also inaugurated the national conference on organ donation and transplantation at PSG Hospitals. (Times of India, Aug 1, 2022)