HEALTH NEWS
Organ transplants fell by a third worldwide due to Covid-19
The number of solid organ transplants performed during the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020 plunged by 31 per cent compared to the previous year.
Data from 22 countries across four continents and found major variations in the response of transplant programs to the Covid-19 pandemic, with transplant activity dropping by more than 90 per cent in some countries.
Living donor transplantation, which is reduced more substantially, requires significant resources and planning compared to deceased donor transplantation. This is extremely difficult during a pandemic when resources are stretched and staff redeployed. There are also major ethical concerns for the well-being and safety of the donor.
It’s clear that there are many indirect deaths associated with Covid-19 and our study confirms that the pandemic has far-reaching consequences on many medical specialties.
The pan-India deceased organ donation rate is at 0.34 per million population, the lowest in the world.