All brain deaths in the state must be certified, said Kerala Health Minister KK Shylaja. Not reporting brain deaths is the reason for fewer cases of organ donation, the minister added.

Kerala Health Minister KK Shyalaja was speaking at a three-day training programme for organ transplant in Thiruvananthapuram. The minister also added that a large community of people were waiting to receive organs. They had to be given a life and therefore, there must be awareness around the issue. The minister was speaking at a 3 day ‘transplant procurement manager’ training programme held in Thiruvananthapuram by Spain-based Transplant Procurement Management Donation and Transplant Institute in association with Kerala Network for Organ sharing (KNOS).

As several issues were being raised about brain death, it should be confirmed only in the presence and under the supervision of a doctor, the government had ordered. Further brain death is confirmed only after testing for apnea stay after a gap of over 6 hours. A video recording of the test is also to be done.

The training workshop was conducted by a group of experts from both government and private hospitals in Spain - the country where the largest number of organ transplants occur in the world. It was attended by director of NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation) Dr Vasanthi Ramesh, KNOS nodal officer Dr Noble Gracious and other experts from Spain.

The three-day training programme was held to hone the skills of professionals who are specialists in organ transplant. The course was attended by doctors neurologists, neurosurgeons, anaesthetists, transplant coordinators, transplant procurement managers etc.

The Kerala government has deployed transplant procurement managers to ensure brain death confirmation protocols are followed in the ICU wards of every government hospital. Additionally, special care has to be given to patients diagnosed with brain death in government hospitals. To identify brain death case, MCU screening has to be done everyday. For patients who have sustained critical head injuries, help must be given for further diagnosis and investigation in their treatment, as per the DPI rules.

This story was originally published on The News Minute and is reprinted here with permission. It can be viewed on https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/certifying-brain-death-mandatory-kerala-health-minister-102587