Organ transplants: 90% of deceased donors are from five states only

Out of 1,099 deceased donors in 2023, as many as 902 were from five states – Telangana (252), Tamil Nadu (178), Karnataka (178), Maharashtra (148) and Gujarat (146).

New Delhi: Even after three decades of having a law to facilitate organ donation, India registered just about 1,000 deceased donors for organ transplantation in 2023 and 90 per cent of them are from only five states including Karnataka, according to the latest organ donation data released here on Saturday.

Out of 1,099 deceased donors, as many as 902 were from five states – Telangana (252), Tamil Nadu (178), Karnataka (178), Maharashtra (148) and Gujarat (146).

Two other states, Delhi (66) and Andhra Pradesh (41), contributed another 107 such donors while 12 states including Uttar Pradesh (3), West Bengal (16), Madhya Pradesh (8), Rajasthan (7), Odisha (3) and Chhattisgarh (4) accounted for only 90 cadaver donations last year, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) said in its latest report.

“There is a need to promote organ donation from deceased persons and 'brain stem dead' people to meet the huge need for organ donation in the country. One organ donor can give new life to up to 8 people," Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Health, said here at an event to celebrate the national organ donation day.

NOTTO records show a wide gap between patients who need transplants and the organs that are available in India.

For instance, an estimated 1.8 lakh persons suffer from renal failure every year, but only 13,426 renal transplants were performed last year. Around 25,000-30,000 liver transplants are needed annually but less than 5,000 were carried out.

Similarly, about 50,000 people suffer from heart failures annually but only 221 heart transplants happened last year.

Last year, there were 15,436 living donors and 1,099 deceased donors. The organs received from them were used in 18,378 transplants, which is nearly a four-times increase from the 2013 situation, but still is significantly less than the requirement.

Among the living donors, the number of females (9,784) is almost twice of men (5,651), which according to the doctors is an indication of the social pressure that women of the house are subjected to when males in the family need an organ.

Vinod Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog said only around 750 institutions provide organ transplantation services. He also asked the insurance companies to cover organ transplants because the procedure is covered under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojna, the Centre’s flagship family health insurance scheme for the poor.