Heart transplantation in India-looking back as we celebrate 25years of the transplant law.

Abstract

India's heart transplantation programme is the number one programme in South Asia with an average hearttransplantation rate of 0.2 per million population (pmp) versus the global average of 1.06pmp (2016-2018). The deceased donation rate was 0.67pmp in India in 2018. The law which made it possible has completed 25years. In the first 5years, after the law was passed, less than 50 hearts had been transplanted. The foundation for the deceased donation programme was laid through the creation of an 'Organ Sharing Network' in the year 2000 by Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network (MOHAN) Foundation, a non-governmental organisation in Chennai. The role of the Health Department of Tamil Nadu in streamlining the deceased donation process in 2008-2009 changed the course of the programme. The heart transplantation programme evolved due to a handful of committed hospitals from the private sector. The challenge was in the identification and certification of brain death, and this continues to be the main reason for the low donation rate. The referral government hospitals, which usually receive traumatic head injuries that result in brain death, seldom possess the infrastructure or financial autonomy to start a transplant programme. Hence, expensive transplants like heart and liver have catered to the needs of the economically affordable class mostly. To improve the donation rate will require innovative thinking by taking steps such as strengthening the national programme and creating cross-subsidy formulas in organ sharing so that the less affordable too have access to such surgeries. To showcase the success of the programme, it is also imperative to start a heart transplant outcome registry to study the short- and long-term outcomes.