Organ Donation Policy

February 17, 2023

Context:

The Union Health Ministry has removed the age limit of 65 years for patients registering for organ transplant as part of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization’s guidelines.

National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization’s guidelines:

The government has decided to do away with the clause in the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) guidelines as it violates the right to life.
The Health Ministry is charting a “One Nation, One Policy” for organ donation and transplantation.
It will also introduce a chapter in the school curriculum regarding organ donation awareness for students.

Earlier	Now
A patient could register for a transplant only in the domicile state.	A patient irrespective of domicile state can register in any other state for a transplant.
Patients above the age of 65 were not eligible for organ donation.	People beyond 65 in need of an organ donation will also be eligible to get one.
The patient was not allotted a unique ID, and the registration was valid only in the domicile state.	The patient will be allotted a unique ID by NOTTO on registering which will get carried forward even if the patient changes multiple hospitals in different States.
The registration fee was charged from patients.	Health Ministry has intimated states to stop charging registration fees from patients.
The domicile policy was in place.	The domicile policy has been removed. All states have been intimated about this decision.

About NOTTO

National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) is a National level organization set up under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
It has following two divisions:

- National Human Organ and Tissue Removal and Storage Network:

- - This has been mandated as per the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011.

- - This division of the NOTTO is the nodal networking agency for Delhi and shall network for Procurement Allocation and Distribution of Organs and Tissues in Delhi.

- National Biomaterial Centre:

- - The main thrust & objective of establishing the centre is to fill up the gap between ‘Demand’ and ‘Supply’ as well as ‘Quality Assurance’ in the availability of various tissues.

Function/Activities

The National Network division of NOTTO would function as the apex centre for All India activities of coordination and networking for procurement and distribution of organs and tissues and registry of organs and tissue donation and transplantation in the country.

Additional Information:

Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994

It was passed in 1994. It 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.

Main Provisions:

The act recognises brain death identified as a form of the death process and defines criteria for brain death.
It provides regulatory and advisory bodies for monitoring transplantation activity.
It also provides for maintenance of a registry of donors and recipients of human organs and tissues

Source: The Hindu, notto.gov.in