The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

HEALTH

PCMSA welcomes panel on organ transplantation
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 30
The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) has welcomed the high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for preparing fresh guidelines concerning organ transplantation for hospitals, doctors and donors. It has demanded that the committee should hold serious consultations with the representatives of the medical fraternity, religious and social organisations and leading social activists so as to take their views into consideration before submitting the final draft.

In a press note issued here today, Dr Hardeep Singh, president and Dr Ajay Bagga, Press secretary of the PCMSA said since the joint-family system was vanishing from the society, it was almost impossible for the patients of kidney failure to get a relative or friend to donate kidneys out of love and affection in the present materialistic world.

The PCMSA stated that even though it was incorrect to make organs saleable for a living in the welfare state, yet amendment to the Human Organ Transplantation Act 1994 was the only solution to stop illegal practices.

Dr Hardeep Singh demanded that methods to develop cadaveric transplantation should be looked at, so that organs from the brain-dead human beings could be transplanted into the bodies of needy patients.

Female foeticide will lead to social evils
Our Correspondent

Ahmedgarh, January 30
The Population Control Committee, Punjab, organised a seminar on crusade against female foeticide at Jain Muni Shri Bimal Chander High School Kup. Dr Puran Singh Jassic, a former Director, Health and Family Welfare Department, presided over the function. Mr Rajbachan Singh Sandhu PPS, Deputy Superintendent, Malerkotla, was the chief guest. As many as 30 village panchayats passed resolutions to support war against female foeticide.

Mr Sandhu claimed that most of the evils of the society were due to sex ratio imbalance. Invaders often abducted women due to which the birth of a girl child came to be considered as a disgrace and often led to female infanticide. With modern techniques like amniocenteursi and sonography to determine sex, female foeticide because much easier.

Mr Sandhu warned that if female foeticide was not checked, it would result in an alarming imbalance in sex ratio in the society and breed social evils. He called upon people to come forward and join war against female foeticide.

In his presidential address, Dr Jassic said sex ratio in North India had deteriorated to an extent that if it not was not checked, it would necessitate polyandry in the region. He said the ratio had fallen from 882 females per 1000 males to 793 over the past decade. Out of 11 worst affected districts in India, eight were from Punjab and the remaining three were from Haryana. He said dowry was the principle cause of this evil.

Prof Udey Partap Singh, chairman, Population Control Committee, said the evil had crept into rural areas. “People must remember that women like Kiran Bedi and Kalpana Chawla had brought laurels to their families,” he said.

Dr Rakesh Kumar said doctors performing abortions must remember the oath administered to them at the time of initiation of medical profession. “It is the duty of a doctor to save all lives after conception,” he claimed. Education, self-dependence and social equality were remedies to the problem, he added.

The town branch of PNB also participated in the seminar. Mr B.B. Goyal, Manager of the bank, also spoke on the subject. Mr S.K. Kalra, Regional Manager, said the empowerment of women was necessary for eradicating the evil of female foeticide.

As many as 30 panchayats which attended the seminar passed a resolution to extend their support in the crusade against this evil. Mr Tarsem Sharma, District Coordinator, Giani Narinder Singh, PRO, Sangrur, Rajesh Sharma and Mr Ved Parkash Kaushik, DEO (Elementary), also spoke on the occasion.