Establishing a deceased donor program in north Indian region: lessons learnt

Introduction Living‐related donors are the source of almost all organ transplants in India. However, these donations fall far short of current needs, and there remains a huge disparity between demand and supply of organs. In the last five yr, a consistent increase in deceased donor transplant activity has been observed in some southern Indian states. This report describes our experience of establishing a new deceased donor program in the state of Uttar Pradesh in north India. Methods We describe our experience on counseling families of all brain‐dead patients admitted to our center from October 2013 to September 2014 and data on retrieving and transplanting organs. Results A total of 99 brain‐dead patients were identified, of which 67 were medically eligible as donors. Fourteen patients developed cardiac arrest before the counseling could begin. Only eight families agreed for multi‐organ donation. Conclusion Lack of consensus among the family members, mistrust of the medical system, fear of mutilation of the body, and delay in the funeral were identified as the main reasons behind negative consent. Conversely, mass media campaign, proper ICU care of brain‐dead patients, rapport with the family and streamlining all medico legal processes were associated with positive consent.