Explained: Govt Removes Age Bracket For Organ Transplantation In New Policy, All You Need To Know

The Union Ministry of Health is mulling over a ‘One Nation, One Organ Allocation Policy’ to avoid the issues around the submission of domicile certificates in states in order to seek organ transplantation during a health emergency. 

The Union Health Ministry is in consultation with states to come up with uniform guidelines for registration, allocation and other aspects of the process, official sources said.

We look at what the new policy means and how beneficial it stands for people in the medical field. 

What is One Nation, One Organ Allocation Policy?

Through this uniform policy, the Centre aims to remove the mandatory requirement of domicile certificates a person must submit to a state. This will allow patients to seek medical help in any state outside their hometown. 

A uniform policy, an official source said, "will help patients in seeking transplant from deceased donors at any hospital in the country, giving them a lot of flexibility".

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Working towards firming up the policy, the ministry has already recommended states remove the domicile criterion for registering those seeking organs from deceased donors for transplant procedures.

Recently, the Supreme Court asked the Health Ministry to examine and take appropriate action on some states imposing the condition of submission of domicile certificates for patients wishing to register in the cadaver transplant registry for organ transplantation.

Further, it has done away with the 65-year age limit for registration of patients seeking organs from a deceased donor, which was earlier required per a clause in the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NTTO) guidelines.

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New changes brought in 

The NOTTO has made necessary changes to the guidelines which now allow patients aged 65 years and above to register themselves for receiving organs from a deceased donor.

"For registering patients requiring organs of deceased donors, earlier the upper age limit was 65 years. With this restriction removed, patients of all age groups can register for deceased donor organs. The changed guidelines have been put on the website of the NOTTO," an official source said.

The change also includes the removal of the registration fee for anyone intending to register for an organ.
Further, noting that some states have been charging fees ranging between Rs 5,000 to 10,000 for registering such patients, the Union Health Ministry has asked them not to charge money, saying it was against the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, official sources said on Thursday.

States such as Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Kerala have been charging such fees, an official said.

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Data on organ transplantation 

According to official data, the number of organ transplants has increased from 4,990 in 2013 to 15,561 in 2022. The total number of kidney transplants from living donors has increased from 3,495 in 2013 to 9,834 in 2022 and from deceased donors, it has increased from 542 to 1,589 in 2022.

The total number of liver transplants from living donors has increased from 658 in 2013 to 2,957 in 2022 and from 240 to 761 in 2022 from  deceased donors.

The total number of heart transplants have increased from 30 in 2013 to 250 in 2022 while lung transplants from 23 to 138.

(with PTI inputs)