The Indian Society for Organ Transplantation (ISOT) will hold its 14th annual conference from August 8 to 10 in Hyderabad. As part of the programme, a pre-conference on heart transplantation will be held at CARE Hospital on Thursday, August 7. About 100 eminent cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons from all over the country will participate in the workshop.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Dr A Gopalkishan, Chairman, ISOT, said there would be guest lectures, orations, symposia and paper presentations at the three-day meet on organ transplantation. About 300-400 delegates were expected to take part in this conference, which would discuss, among other things, problems dealing with graft histopathology, clinical aspects and surgical techniques.

Stressing the importance of cadaver transplants in giving a new lease of life to many, Dr Gopalkishan sought the active cooperation of the government in making organ donations and transplants easier. Provisions like compulsory Request Law, introduction of a donor card clause on the driving licence, simplification of medico-legal procedures, networking of information and maintaining a registry would go a long way in promoting transplants, he said.

Cadaver transplant remains the best alternative therapeutic modality of organ transplantation, he stressed. In response to a question regarding the scandal in kidney donations in Andhra Pradesh, he said that the government should act fast and identify the culprits. "We are always on the right side and want the guilty to be punished," he added.

Meanwhile, the AP Nephrology Forum has resolved to completely stop performing live related and unrelated kidney transplants in the state if the government failed to identify and punish the culprits indulging in the trading of human organs. Giving time till September for taking action, the Forum said nephrologists and transplant surgeons were greatly exercised over the official apathy and would be constrained to involve themselves only with cadaver transplant programme.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Forum Chairman Dr Gopalkishan said the doctors had time and again approached him to curb the menace of trading in human organs. Yet, reports about scandals were appearing regularly in the media. As a result, the image of the entire medical fraternity was being tarnished.

Dr Gopalkishan said this issue would be thoroughly debated at the three-day conference of ISOT. He said transplantation therapy had considerable importance because of the ever-increasing end-stage organ failure. But there was paucity of organs. Even though 1.50 lakh people were dying due to end-stage renal failure, only 3,500 were undergoing kidney transplantation. No headway was being made in the matter since kidney donations from either live related and unrelated had come under great disrepute due to the various scams. Cadaver transplant remained the best alternative modality since the definition of 'brain death' had been made abundantly clear.

Dr B V Rama Raju, organising secretary, and other members of the organising committee were also present at the press conference.