National Organ Donor Day: Robotic Assisted Surgery (RAS) enhances live liver donations in India

On the National Donor Day, Dr Arvinder Singh Soin, Chief Liver Transplant Surgeon & Chairman, Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine Institute, Medanta-The Medicity highlights the role of technology in organ transplant surgery

The National Donor Day, observed on February 14th of every year, is a gentle reminder to look at the state of organ donation in India. Ironically, this day coincides with Valentines’ Day and organ donation is also symbolically a way to showcase generosity and love towards your dear ones. But, there is a hesitancy among people in donating organs, liver in particular, as many people perceive it as a complicated surgery.

With the advent of technology and science, organ transplant surgery on a living donor has become hassle-free and convenient for surgeons, donors, and recipients. The invention of robotic surgery technologies like Da Vinci, and its use in donor surgeries has helped to change this mind set against organ donation, in the recent times. While Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) is gaining momentum in many disciplines, expertise in robotic liver surgery is still rare. We are among just 7-8 centers in the world with an established robotic surgery program for live liver donors. The robotic technique to remove of a part of the living donor’s liver has proved a big boon for donors, as they recover quickly with minimal pain and hardly any visible scars after the operation. Over the past 2 years since establishing this procedure, we find that the willingness of potential donors to donate for their loved ones has appreciably increased, thanks to the smoother recovery. We have noticed a considerable rise in the number of people volunteering to be liver donors for their family members, owing to the benefits afforded by robotic-assisted surgery.

RAS also ensures that there are barely any future complications associated with the surgery, such as scar, pain, numbness and hernia. Within a month of the surgery, the donor returns to a normal quality of life in terms of diet, travel, driving, work, and personal life etc. In 2-3 months, they can indulge in all activities like sports, dancing, and physically demanding vocations, just like any other person.

Robotic surgery has distinct advantage over conventional laparoscopic surgery for the surgeons too. Fatigue and tremors are reduced manifold, precision is enhanced, and with strictly devised training modules and protocols, junior surgeons can be taught the technique much more easily, with a shorter learning curve. This makes the procedure widely adoptable.

In a country where the deceased donation rate is only around 0.65 per million population, it’s necessary to create awareness about living donor transplantations as well. India’s donation rate is extremely low when compared to developed countries like Croatia and Spain. Although the Government of India had implemented the National Organ Transplant program in 2019 and had allocated a budget of Rs 149.5 crore for promoting deceased organ donation, people still have their inhibitions. Lack of awareness, superstitious beliefs, and a general negative attitude towards organ donation are a few of the main causes for these lower rates. By creating awareness about the less complicated procedures such as minimal invasive surgeries (MIS), and by breaking the myths associated with organ donation, we can create a more responsible and generous nation that is supportive of organ donation.