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India saw record 15,000 organ transplants in 2022: Union Health Secretary

India has witnessed a fast resurgence in organ transplant activities post COVID-19 and, for the first time, achieved more than 15,000 transplants a year in 2022, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

Along with this, there was an annual increase of 27% in the transplant numbers, he said at the “National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) Scientific Dialogue 2023”, organised by the Union Health Ministry.

The event was organised to bring all the stakeholders under one roof to brainstorm ideas about interventions and best practices in the field of organ and tissue transplant that can be taken up for saving lives.

The Health Secretary underlined three priority areas: programmatic restructuring, communication strategy and skilling of professionals.

Highlighting the need to update the existing structures and guidelines, he said, “Though we have existing structures at various governance levels like NOTTO at the national level, SOTTOs at the State level and ROTTOs at the regional level, it needs to be ensured that they work as a well-oiled machinery while performing their mandate.”

Highlighting the changing demography of the country, he said that India has a growing geriatric population and to ensure quality of life for them, it is critically important to update the communication and awareness strategy, so that potential organ donors come forward.