Lucknow: More than 100 transplant coordinators from across Uttar Pradesh on Sunday began a five-day certification programme on organ donation at SGPGIMS, a move aimed at expanding the state’s capacity to identify deceased organ donors and support organ transplantation.The programme, LifeConnect TransCo-ord, was launched by the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation, Uttar Pradesh (SOTTO-UP), under the aegis of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO).The training programme includes more than 45 sessions covering brain stem death certification, donor management, organ allocation, transplant coordination and communication with donor families.Participants who complete the course will receive a NOTTO certificate carrying a registration number, creating Uttar Pradesh’s first pool of formally certified transplant coordinators.The organisation said SGPGIMS carried out its first cadaveric multi-organ transplant in Feb 2026, the state’s first heart transplant in April 2026 and its first deceased-donor cornea retrieval in May 2026.Prof Narayan Prasad, head of nephrology at SGPGIMS, said timely identification of potential donors in intensive care units was essential to increase organ donation.SOTTO-UP also said UP recorded the highest number of online organ donation pledges in the country on Indian Organ Donation Day in 2024.The organisation added that a renal transplant centre is being established at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, with govt support of Rs 1.5 crore, while coordinator teams from Kanpur and Agra have been trained for kidney transplant programmes.According to SOTTO-UP, a proposal to create a separate cadre of transplant coordinators is under consideration by the Uttar Pradesh govt.
