Government Eases Rules For Organ Donation, Relaxes Cap On Age
People beyond 65 years are now eligible for organ donation.
In a major tweak to the organ donation policy, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has removed the condition that people beyond 65 years cannot receive cadaver organ transplants.
The government has decided to remove the ceiling and allow people beyond 65 years to be eligible for organ donation, an official in the Health Ministry said on the condition of anonymity. The government has decided to do away with a clause in the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation guidelines as the clause violates the 'Right to Life', the official said. Now, an individual of any age can register for an organ transplant, the source said.
The ministry is working on a ‘One Nation, One Policy,’ for organ donation and transplantation and will also introduce a chapter in the school curriculum regarding organ donation awareness for students, the official said. The government has also made changes to have a single waiting list for patients, regardless of their domicile. Until now, an organ recipient could register for a prospective transplant in her home state.
Among states, Gujarat had made it mandatory for registered patients to furnish a domicile certificate to be eligible for a transplant, but last year the Gujarat High Court quashed the discriminatory policy of the state government.
The central government has informed all states of its decision to remove the domicile policy for organ transplants, the official cited earlier said. Now, a patient, irrespective of their domicile state, can register in any other state for a transplant, the ministry official said. The patient will be allotted a unique ID by NOTTO upon registering, which will get carried forward even if the patient changes multiple hospitals in different states, according to the official.
The number of organ transplants has increased by over three times, from 4,990 in 2013 to 15,561 in 2022, according to data from the Health Ministry. However, India’s organ donation rate, which is the number of deceased donors per million people, continues to be less than one per million in comparison to countries like Spain, the U.S., Australia, and Croatia. Experts use Spain as an example because it has the highest rate of deceased organ donation in the world, largely because of the 'presumed consent' system for organ donors it has had for three decades.
As of now, one of the main criteria for organ donation, apart from consent from the next of kin of the deceased, is two certifications from doctors, with an interval of six hours, that the person is brain dead. Changes in the law also allow neurosurgeons, intensivists, and anaesthetists to be certifying doctors for this purpose. The rules also require the body of the dead person to be connected to a ventilator so that the organs are well-perfused until they are removed to be preserved and used. This is to ensure that the organs are not damaged after the death of the person.
States like Kerala and Maharashtra have been charging fees ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for registering organ transplant patients. The ministry has also instructed states to stop charging registration fees to patients, the official said.
Various parts of the body can be transplanted, ranging from the cornea and the heart to the stomach, hand, and intestines, and even skin and bones. However, not all transplants are common. Recently, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav underwent a kidney transplant in Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth hospital, with his daughter Rohini Acharya donating the organ.
The most common transplant is of the kidneys, followed by the cornea, a part of the eye, according to experts. Among solid organs, the next most common are the liver, heart, and lungs. The kidney accounts for up to 11,423 of the 15,561 organ transplants, followed by the liver (766), heart (250), lung (138), pancreas (24) and small bowel transplants (3).
Most of the transplants occur in private hospitals, with the numbers in government hospitals being relatively lower, the source said, adding that of the 15,561 transplants, a majority—12,791, that is, 82%—are from live donors and 2,765 (18%) are from cadavers. Facilities for deceased-donor transplants only exist in some states, such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Chandigarh, Karnataka, and Delhi.
