News Highlights:
- Recently, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that the clause that people beyond 65 years could not receive cadaver organ transplants had been removed.
- Now, people beyond 65 years in need of an organ donation will also be eligible to get one.
- An individual of any age can register for an organ transplant
Key takeaway:
- The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) guidelines contain a clause the government has chosen to remove because it infringes on the right to life.
- States like Gujarat have made it mandatory for registered patients to furnish a domicile certificate to be eligible for a transplant.
- Last year, the Gujarat High Court quashed the discriminatory policy of the State government.
- Certain States have been charging fees for registering organ transplant patients. The Health Ministry has intimated States to stop charging registration fees from patients
National Organ and Tissue Transplant Programme (NOTP):
- About:
- National Organ and Tissue Transplant Programme (NOTP) is being implemented by the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- The programme aims to improve access to life-transforming transplantation for needy citizens by promoting deceased organ donation.
- The central government has implemented the NOTP to promote organ donation in the country by bridging the gap between the demand and supply of organs from transplantation.
- Objectives:
- To organise a system of deceased organ and tissue procurement & distribution for transplantation.
- To promote deceased organ and tissue donation following the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissue Rules, 2014.
- To protect vulnerable poor from organ trafficking.
- Features:
- Under the NOTP, a National Level Tissue Bank (Biomaterial Centre) for storing tissues has been established at National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO), New Delhi.
- Further, under the NOTP, a provision has also been made for providing financial support to the States for setting up Bio- material centres.
- As of now, a Regional Bio-material centre has been established at Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Status of Organ/Tissue Donation in India:
- Organ donation rate:
- The organ donation rate in India is currently less than 1 per million, compared to Spain, having 35 donations per million.
- The deceased donation is almost insignificant in a country of 1.2 billion population in India.
- Transplantation capacity:
- India is the 3rd country in the world, after the USA and China, regarding the total number of transplants done in a year.
- Capacity for undertaking rare transplants, e.g. Pancreas, Intestine, hand, limbs, Lung, and Uterus, have developed within the country, besides a significant enhancement in capacities for undertaking relatively common transplants of Kidney, Liver, and Heart.
- Infrastructure:
- According to the standing committee report, the total number of transplants done in the country has increased from 4990 in 2013 to 12666 in 2019, indicating a marked improvement in infrastructure for undertaking transplants in the country.
- Continuation of NOTP:
- The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended continuing the National Organ Transplant program (NOTP) during 2021-26.
Way Forward:
- To increase the accessibility of donated organs to weaker sections, public hospitals need to increase the infrastructural capacity to carry out transplantation and provide affordable proper treatment to the poor.
- It is suggested that cross-subsidization will increase accessibility to the weaker section. For every 3 or 4 transplants, the private hospitals should carry out free-of-cost transplantation to the section of the population that donates a majority of organs.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu