Hyderabad, June 6: Apollo Hospitals Hyderabad marked World Transplant Day with a special programme titled “A Key That Opens New Hope – Celebrating the Gift of Life” at a city hotel on Saturday, bringing together donor families, transplant recipients, healthcare professionals and dignitaries to promote awareness on organ donation and transplantation.

Telangana Director General of Police C.V. Anand attended the event as the chief guest, while Dr Sreebhushan Raju, Professor and Head of Nephrology at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), was the guest of honour. Dr A. Narendra Kumar, Director of Medical Education, Telangana, and Prof. James Neuberger, Associate Medical Director, Organ Donation and Transplantation, NHS Blood and Transplant, also addressed the gathering.

The programme focused on encouraging ethical organ donation practices and raising awareness about both living and deceased donor transplantation. Donor families were felicitated for their selfless contributions, while transplant recipients shared inspiring accounts of their journey towards recovery and renewed life.

Apollo Hospitals highlighted its leadership in transplant care, stating that it has performed over 27,500 solid organ transplants since launching transplant services in 1984. These include more than 21,500 kidney transplants, 5,000 liver transplants and 400 heart-lung transplants.

Dr Sharath Putta, Head of the Department of Liver Transplant, said Apollo continues to set benchmarks in transplant medicine through its network of 28 hospitals across 15 states, advanced transplant ICUs, ECMO-supported critical care facilities and comprehensive post-transplant follow-up programmes.

Several senior specialists, including liver, heart, lung and kidney transplant surgeons and physicians, participated in the event and stressed the importance of organ donation in saving lives. They noted that advances in transplant medicine have significantly improved survival rates and quality of life for recipients.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tejasvi Rao Veerapalli, CEO, Apollo Hospitals Telugu States, described organ donation as one of the greatest gifts a person can offer, providing critically ill patients with a second chance at life. He called for greater public awareness and participation in organ donation programmes to bridge the gap between organ demand and availability.

He also acknowledged the role of government initiatives such as Jeevandan and the Green Channel support provided by the police, stating that these measures have strengthened the organ donation ecosystem and enabled timely transplants, ultimately saving more lives.