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India’s first womb transplant may encourage organ donation

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India’s first womb transplant may encourage organ donation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It was conducted at the Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute in Pune on May 18

By Ramesh Menon

India’s first uterus transplant was conducted on May 18 at the Galaxy Care Laparoscopy Institute in Pune. The landmark surgery might encourage many others to donate organs.

The 26-year-old patient from Vadodara was all smiles before the operation at 9am as it gave it a new hope of conceiving after getting her mother’s womb. The eight-hour surgery ahead did not rattle her. She had gone through a lot of trauma for the last eight years after marriage trying to have a baby. Now, there is a new hope—after losing two babies in previous pregnancies, four abortions and a scarred uterus.

She hopes the womb transplant will now help her bear a child. At last.

The complicated transplant operation was headed by Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, consultant oncosurgeon and Laparoscopic Oncosurgeon. He was assisted by Dr Sanjeev Jadhav, vascular surgeon, Dr Milind Telang, gynaecologist and Dr Pankaj Kulkarni, infertility specialist. Dr Bhushan Kinholkar will look after intensive care after the operation that is very crucial for success.

Dr Sailesh Puntambekar told APN that this landmark operation will give a new hope to many women who do not have a functional uterus and want to have a baby. “We are very confident as we have taken great care to select the donor and the recipient after conducting numerous tests. We are hoping for the best,” he said.

Another womb transplant is scheduled for tomorrow at the hospital for a 22-year-old patient born without a uterus. The third transplant is to be conducted in June. All the three women have different uterine complications and donors are their mothers.

Dr Shailesh Puntambekar who headed the operation

Dr Shailesh Puntambekar who headed the operation

They will all be closely monitored by the doctors for 24 weeks. Then, fertilized embryos will be transferred into the uterus using the IVF procedure if they are in good health.

Doctors say that these transplants will hopefully help them get pregnant. The operations of all the three are being done free of cost by the hospital.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1495092539925{background-color: #d3d3d3 !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1495092413106{background-color: e0e0e0 !important;}”]Law to regulate transplants

The Transplantation of Human Organs Act passed in 1994 is India’s primary legislation related to organ donation and transplantation. The idea behind it was to regulate the removal, storage and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and prevent commercial dealings in human organs that had taken scandalous proportions in India. Poor people were selling off their organs to meet debts or to eke out a living. It allowed transplantation of human organs and tissues from living donors and cadavers after cardiac or brain death. It also wanted to ensure that the donors were not exploited as there were too many cases of commercial dealings in transplantation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Nearly a dozen gynecologists, endocrinologists and IVF specialists at the hospital were planning the live donor uterine transplant for a year. They first practiced on cadavers in Germany and the United States and got briefed by doctors who had done before helping them to perfect the technique.

The hospital then got its infrastructure in place before a government team inspected it before granting permission from the Directorate of Health Services in Maharashtra to conduct the transplant. They now have a licence to conduct womb transplants till 2022.

About 25 such transplants have taken place in the world. As there is a large possibility of rejection, both patients and doctors are on their tenterhooks. But there is always hope that it will work as it has in some cases. Out of 11 womb transplants in Sweden, seven ended in successful pregnancies.

Organ donation has not picked up in India. A lot of superstitious beliefs and fears stop people from donating their organs. Many believe that if they donate their eyes after death, they would be reborn blind. Counselors who try to persuade families to donate the eyes of their loved ones after they have passed away have a tough time convincing them to do so. Most of them just get shooed away, says one of them.

Even cadaver donation has not picked up. Media attention on such donations and operations can in some way create an environment for organ donation to pick up.

Photo courtesy: Pinterest, http://www.galaxycare.org/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

ED raids Punjab Congress leaders Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Sangat Singh Giljian in forest scam linked money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate asserted that during the search operations, various incriminating documents, mobile phones/digital devices have been seized

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The Enforcement Directorate recently conducted raids against two former Punjab forest ministers and Congress leaders Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sangat Singh Giljian and others in relation to an alleged forest-scam linked money laundering investigation.  

Issuing a statement on Friday, the Enforcement Directorate said that its investigation pertains to charges of bribery in the state forest department against the issuance of a permit for tree felling and for transfer and posting in the department, among some other allegations. 

The ED raids were carried out on November 30 in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi at the residential premises of Dharamsot, Giljian, their associates, forest officers and some private individuals. The agency reportedly searched fourteen locations under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, has been a five-time MLA and he was arrested earlier this year by the Punjab Vigilance bureau as part of a case linked to alleged possession of disproportionate assets. In his three-year tenure as forest minister, Dharamsot collected ₹1 crore in lieu of issuance of permits for cutting khair trees through his OSD. Sangat Singh Giljian has been an MLA from the Urmar seat in Hoshiarpur district.

The Enforcement Directorate said that the money laundering case was filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and stems from an FIR of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.

The nodal agency mentioned that the first information report pertains to alleged irregularities in the forest department and allegations of taking bribes by the concerned ministers and officers of the department against the issuance of permits for felling of Khair trees, transfer/posting in the department, issuance of NOC from the department and purchase of tree guards.

In addition, the Enforcement Directorate asserted that during the search operations, various incriminating documents, mobile phones/digital devices have been seized which, prima facie, reveal suspicious transactions involving persons who are under investigation. 

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Jharkhand government puts hospitals on alert amid respiratory infection outbreak in China

The district administration are also asked to assess the availability of oxygen and the supply chain for refilling along with other necessary equipment.

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Amid a respiratory infection outbreak in China, the Jharkhand government has put its hospitals on alert, directing them for surveillance, preventive measures and testing of respiratory illness. The additional chief secretary of health Arun Kumar Singh directed the district administrations to remain prepared and keep a continuous vigil on the situation.  

In a letter to the district magistrate, Arun Kumar Singh stated that in view of the recently reported surge in respiratory illness, particularly in children in Northern China, in the recent weeks, there is an urgent need to keep a constant vigil, monitor trends of cases and quickly respond to any emerging public health. He added that considering the ongoing influenza, there might be an increase in respiratory illness cases.

He mentioned that this is predominantly attributed to usual causes like Influenza strain (H1N1/H3N2/H5N1/H9N2 etc.), mycoplasma pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, etc. He further remarked that in order to reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases along with the current scenario of unusual causes of respiratory diseases in children or any unexpected clinical manifestations, there is a need to increase the surveillance and remain vigilant and to monitor the continuously changing nature of the virus, including respiratory pathogen (H1N1, H3N2 etc) and evolution of SARS CoV-2 variants.

The additional chief secretary of health further directed the officials to strengthen the flu and respiratory clinics in the medical colleges, district hospitals, and health centres. He asserted that the departments of microbiology at RIMS-Ranchi and Mahatma Gandhi Medical College in Jamshedpur have been made sentinel sites for sending the suspected samples.    

Reportedly, the district administrations have also been asked to ascertain that the health facilities, including private hospitals, report all suspected cases. In addition, they were also asked to assess the availability of oxygen and the supply chain for refilling along with other necessary equipment. The district administrations were also asked to ensure mock drills for emergency circumstances, as per the officials.

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Tensions rise at Sagar Dam as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana clash over drinking water

On Thursday when Telangana officials were busy with elections, about 700 Andhra Pradesh Policemen stormed into the project and opened the right canal to release 500 cusecs of Krishna water per hour.

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As Telangana was getting ready for election, Andhra Pradesh took control of Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and began releasing water, leading tensions to rise between the two states. On Thursday when Telangana officials were busy with elections, about 700 Andhra Pradesh Policemen stormed into the project and opened the right canal to release 500 cusecs of Krishna water per hour.

Andhra Pradesh state irrigation minister Ambati Rambabu took to X(formerly Twitter) and wrote they are releasing water from Nagarjunasagar right canal on Krishna river for the drinking water purposes. But the minister made a clarification that they had only taken water that they have only taken water that belongs to the state and it is in accordance to the treaty between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Talking to the media Rambabu said they had not flouted any treaty. He said 66% of Krishna water belongs to Andhra Pradesh and 34% to Telangana. He said they had not used a single drop of water that did not belong to them. He said they had tried to open their canal in their territory. He further added this water was rightfully theirs.

As tensions started rising, the central government has stepped in and urged both states to revert to the release of Nagarjuna Sagar waters as of November 28. The proposal was made by the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla during a video conference with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Both the states have agreed to the plan.

In order to ensure no further conflict takes place, the dam will be under the supervision of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which will also oversee that both the states are getting water as per the deal. Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari had alleged that 500 armed Andhra Pradesh policemen came to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and released about cusecs of water by opening the head regulators located at gate number 5 and 7. They even damaged the CCTV cameras.

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