STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: The Government Medical College & Hospital (GMC&H) Jammu is the first Hospital to perform live Kidney transplantation in Jammu division. It was informed by Dr Shashi Sudhan Sharma, Principal, GMC Jammu while addressing a press conference on ‘Organ Donation & Transplantation’, organized by State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (SOTTO) J&K at Conference Hall, Super Speciality Hospital Jammu on Monday in presence of Dr Elias Sharma, HoD Urology & Renal Transplant and Nodal Officer SOTTO J&K, Dr Sanjeev Puri, Joint Director, SOTTO J&K, Dr Manoj Chalotra, Medical Superintendent, Super-speciality Hospital, Dr Kailash Thakur, Assistant Professor Surgery and Dr Raju Bhandari, Consultant Nephrologist, GMC Jammu.
Speaking further, the Principal GMC elaborated the importance of Human Organ/ Tissue Transplantation and said that there has been a large deficit between demand and availability of organs and tissues in India including Jammu and Kashmir while Renal and Corneal transplant programme is running successfully in Government Medical College Jammu. She praised efforts of GMC administration, faculty and staff for providing best services to patients in Jammu. “GMC has also been arranging training for Transplant Surgeons, Nurses and Transplant Coordinators etc in collaboration with SOTTO J&K at PGIMER Chandigarh and other institutions,” said Shashi, adding that SOTTO J&K, established in September 2019 at Super-specialty Hospital Jammu, has been working hard to create awareness of organ donation. It has organized around 140 awareness campaigns and more than 1,400 people have pledged to donate their organs during these activities. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 99th episode of Mann Ki Baat’ has also supported the cause by requesting people to volunteer for organ donation, a noble cause thereby giving life to others,” she added. GMC Jammu has done 13 Renal Transplants, all under Ayushman Bharat with logistics provided by the Hospital since its registration from Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in April 2022. Moreover, an Eye Bank has been established in Department of Ophthalmology which has performed 4 Corneal Transplants giving sight to the blind after its registration from DGHS in March 2022.