Lok Sabha Question No. 927 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Organ Transplant and Donation
Ministry: HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE
Asked by: Kani K. Navas

## GOVERNMENTOFINDIA MINISTRYOF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENTOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 927 TO BE ANSWERED ON 8 TH DECEMBER, 2023

## ORGAN TRANSPLANT AND DONATION

## 927. SHRI K. NAVASKANI:

Will the Minister of HEALTHANDFAMILYWELFARE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken cognizance of the fact that there are societal reservations on several counts against organ donation and transplant;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the remedial steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government keeping in view the fact that more than 2 lakh Indians require organ transplant every year?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (PROF. SATYA PAL SINGH BAGHEL)

- (a) to (c) No reports of societal reservations against organ donation and transplantation have been reported in the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This Ministry has taken following steps to increase awareness on organ donation in the country:
- i) Dissemination of information by NOTTO, ROTTOs (Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations) and SOTTOs (State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations) set up under the National Organ Transplant Program (NOTP) ;
- ii) Awebsite 'notto.mohfw.gov.in' has been launched ;
- iii) Establishment of a 24x7 call-centre with a toll free helpline number (1800114770) to provide information, tele-counseling and to help in coordination for organ donation ;
- iv) Activities are organized across the country for generating awareness, such as celebration of Indian Organ Donation Day annually, seminars, workshops, debates, sports events, walkathons, marathons, nukkad natak, NOTTO Scientific Dialogue 2023 etc. ;
- v) Display boards on organ donation are exhibited outside ICUs and other strategic locations in the transplant/retrieval hospitals ;
- vi) Advertisements are published in print media ;
- vii) Audio and audio-visual messages are disseminated through social media, electronic media etc. ;
- viii) Regular programs are organized with school children for giving them the knowledge about organ donation and conducting competitions like poster making etc. ;
- ix) The government engages with various stakeholders like medical and paramedical professionals, various NGOs, school and college students, youth groups, religious leaders, corporates etc. to enhance awareness on Brain Stem Death and Organ Donation ;
- x) Angdaan Mahotsav was organized during the month of July, 2023 involving all Central Ministries and State/UT Governments wherein various awareness and organ donation pledging activities and competitions through MyGov platforms were undertaken ;
- xi) Indian Organ Donation Day and mega pledging drive at Agra etc. were organized ;
- xii) In order to facilitate registry of pledge for organ donation, Aadhar verified digital pledge registry has been launched through a dedicated web portal (https://notto.abdm.gov.in) on which more than 88400 persons have pledged for organ donation since September, 2023 ;
- xiii) Information and pledging kiosks have been set up by NOTTO/ROTTOs/SOTTOs during various religious functions and also at Indian International Trade Fair 2023, in which several people participated to pledge for organ donation ;
- xiv) NOTTO promotes organ donation through talks by experts and program officers on TV, Radio and other audio-visual media, social media, print media etc. ;
- xv) For the first time, NOTTO has organized training course for Transplant Coordinators (9th batch) from 28th November to 02nd December 2023 exclusively for the medical and nursing officers from 22 Hospitals of the Armed forces (all three Army, Navy, and Airforce) from all over the country ;
- xvi) Training for organ retrieval has been organized under the aegis of NOTTO ;

In addition to above, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has done away with the domicile requirement of the State/UT for registration of patients requiring organ transplantation from deceased donor. The upper age limit of 65 years for eligibility for registration to receive deceased donor organ has also been removed. Now, a person of any age can register for receiving deceased donor organ.

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