19 April marks World Liver Day. You may be wondering why there is a need to mark this occasion, but with nearly 10 lakh patients of liver cirrhosis diagnosed every year in India, it is of utmost importance to spread awareness on the matter.
“The aim is to raise awareness on how to maintain a healthy liver and draw attention to liver diseases. The most common form of liver disease is cirrhosis which happens because of four reasons: NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases), alcoholic liver disease, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B. Patients with cirrhosis may not have any symptoms and may have normal blood tests until a very advanced stage of the disease. It’s crucial to treat Hepatitis B and C, limit or stop alcohol and see a specialist for fatty liver when diagnosed. Therefore, people across the world need to be sensitised and activities on and around World Liver Day contribute greatly to this awareness,” explains Sunayana Singh, CEO, ORGAN India, a non-profit organisation (NPO) that spreads awareness on organ donation and organ transplantation.
As part of their ongoing efforts, ORGAN India has dedicated a lot of social media posts in April to liver diseases and liver transplants this month. Their team will be going Live on Facebook on 19 April with Dr Sonal Asthana, senior consultant of HPB and liver transplant surgery, Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru to talk about liver health, disease prevention and treatment and liver transplants. They also plan to show videos of those who have donated their livers and those who have received transplants to carry the message forward. The team also recently organised a webinar on ‘Recent trends in liver diseases and transplants’ for Civil Hospital in Panchkula, and will be hosting more webinars for the medical fraternity in different districts of Haryana.
Most importantly, the NPO has taken on the mantle of leading the Indian contingent at the World Transplant Games which will be held in Perth in Australia in 2023. In these international games, their transplant recipients and living donors will compete with others. Singh elaborates, “The World Transplant Games offer an opportunity to transplant recipients and living donors to represent their country in a sporting event, competing at a high level against their peers. It is, in essence, the Olympic Games for transplant patients.”
The World Transplant Games are held every two years by the World Transplant Games Federation, a worldwide organisation that has representation from more than 60 countries, which was established in 1978 and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. Its principal aim is to raise public awareness of the importance and benefits of organ donation, by demonstrating the health and fitness that can be achieved post-transplant. Organ transplantation is a complex surgery that requires lifelong use of immunosuppressant drugs which take a physical toll on the body. Competing against other athletes becomes exceptionally difficult for most transplant recipients.
“As a part of our efforts to take the movement throughout the country through awareness and to support transplant patients, we have taken the initiative to become the Team Managers for the Indian Contingent for the World Transplant Games 2023 and have been appointed by the World Transplant Games Federation as the official Member Organisation from India. So far we have around 70 organ transplant recipients and living donors who want to participate in the next games. India has participated in the Games four times before with nineteen athletes and has brought home eleven medals. The previous games held at Newcastle, England in 2019 saw a contingent of fourteen Indian athletes winning seven medals (four golds and three silvers). Just imagine how many medals we can win in the next games with a big, well-prepared contingent!” shares Singh with pride.
India’s organ donation rate is amongst the lowest in the world, mostly due to lack of awareness on the subject. There are also many misconceptions surrounding life after transplants. The fitness and health of Indian athletes as displayed in these games will inspire many, and the visibility of transplant recipients will go a long way in raising awareness on organ donation so that no Indian dies from lack of organs available for transplant.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be reached on nooranand@gmail.com.