Kidney Transplants in India

The Indian government has ordered a probe into an allegation that poor Myanmarese villagers were being lured into giving their kidneys to rich patients.

Regulated by– Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994.

• A transplant can be either
  • From organs of deceased persons donated by their relatives
  • From a living person the recipient knows

Only 16% of the total transplants in the India use deceased organs.

Types of donations

• • Donations from close relatives
  • Donations from unrelated persons (Altruistic donations)

• Organ donations and transplants in exchange for money are forbidden in India.
• Punishment - Offering to pay for organs or document forgery is punishable by jail up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.

National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is the apex centre for coordination and networking for the registry, donation and transplantation of organs and tissues in India.

Reasons for higher kidney transplantation scam

• • Higher demand for kidney due to increase in kidney failures
  • Least risk to the donor
  • Cheaper than other transplantations
  • Higher survival time of kidneys

Kidney can survive up to 24-36 hours outside the body, the largest among other organs while the lungs remain viable only for 4-6 hours, and the liver for 8-12 hours.

Guidelines

In India, Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 provides various regulations for the removal of human organs and its storage. It also regulates the transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs.

Highlights of the New Guidelines?

• Removed Age Cap:
  • The upper age limit has been removed as people are now living longer.
    • Earlier, according to the NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization) guidelines, an end-stage organ failure patient above 65 years of age was prohibited from registering to receive the organ.
• No Domicile Requirement:
  • The ministry has removed the domicile requirement to register as an organ recipient in a particular state under a ‘One Nation, One Policy’ move.
  • Now a needy patient can register to receive an organ in any state of his or her choice and will also be able to get the surgery done there.
• No Fees for Registration:
  • There will be no registration fee that states used to charge for this purpose, the Centre has asked states that used to charge for such registration to not do so.
  • Among the states that sought money for registration were Gujarat, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Kerala.
    • Certain states asked for anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 to register a patient on the organ recipient waitlist.

Note

• NOTTO is set up under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, located in New Delhi.
• National Network division of NOTTO functions as apex centre for all India activities for procurement, distribution and registry of organs and tissues donation and transplantation in the country.

What is the Purpose of New Guidelines?

• The Centre is planning to make changes in the rules of Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 towards creating a national policy for transplantation.
• Currently, different states have different rules; the Union government is considering changes to the rules so that there is a standard criterion followed in all states across the country.
• However, Health being a state subject, the rules formed by the central government will not be binding on the states.
• The steps are aimed at better and more equitable access to organs and also to promote cadaver donations, which currently form a minuscule fraction of all organ transplants carried out in India.

What is the Scenario of Organ Transplantation in India?

• India conducts the third highest number of transplants in the world.
• Organs from deceased donors accounted for nearly 17.8% of all transplants in 2022.
• The total number of deceased organ transplants climbed from 837 in 2013 to 2,765 in 2022.
• The total number of organ transplants – with organs from both deceased and living donors – increased from 4,990 in 2013 to 15,561 in 2022.
• Every year, an estimated 1.5-2 lakh people need a kidney transplant.
  • Only around 10,000 got one in 2022. Of the 80,000 people who required a liver transplant, less than 3,000 got one in 2022.
  • And, of the 10,000 who needed a heart transplant, only 250 got it in 2022.