Organ: Centre junks domicile rule, fee for registration of organ recipients | India News

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NEW DELHI: Now, one can register as an organ recipient anywhere in the country as the government has decided to do away with the need for domiciles to register in a state/Union territory, senior officials in the health ministry told TOI.
Top health ministry officials also said that a directive has been issued to all states/UTs to not charge any fee for the registration also.
Some states charge anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to register a patient for receiving organs donated by a deceased or cadaver donor. “Organ transplant is a life-saving procedure. One shouldn’t be deprived of it merely because he or she does not have a domicile for a particular state nor should they be required to pay any fee for registration. That’s why we have taken these decisions. The same has been conveyed to all states/UTs,” said an official.

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More than two lakh Indians require organ transplantation annually; not even 10% get it. This is because organs donated from deceased donors are scarce. That’s why, earlier, younger patients — those below 65 years — were in the “preference” list for receiving organs. The government said it has decided to do away with this age bar. “This decision has been taken in consideration of the right to life. Now, anyone can register herself or himself for an organ regardless of age,” an official said.
Organ retrieval, storage and transplantation is governed in India under the Transplantation of Human Organs Act (THOA), 1994. The law has been adopted by most states. However, sources say, certain aspects of the law are vague which has given rise to confusion and many states have devised their own methods for its implementation. The health ministry said they are working on a ‘one nation, one policy’ to do away with these variations. “A meeting with all states/UTs was held on January 9 in this regard,” said a source.

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A key step in this direction would be the centralised registration system of organ donors and recipients. To create awareness about the need for organ donations, the government said, they have prepared a chapter on this, which will be added to the school curriculum soon.
Anyone, regardless of age or gender, can become an organ and tissue donor. In case of a person less than 18 years of age, consent of parents or legal guardian is required.
A living person can donate only for immediate blood relations (brother, sister, parents and children). He or she can donate kidney (as one kidney is capable of maintaining the body functions), a portion of pancreas (as half of the pancreas is adequate for sustaining pancreatic functions) and part of the liver (as the few segments that are donated will regenerate after a period of time). A brain dead person, on the other hand, can donate more than 20 organs and tissues including the heart, lungs, liver, kidney, intestines, pancreas, eyes, heart valves, skin, bone marrow, connective tissue, middle ear and blood vessels can be retrieved. The officials said organ transplant numbers have increased significantly in India in the last 10 years.
“In 2013, India conducted 3,153 living donor transplants and 837 deceased donor transplants. This number has gone up to 12,791 and 2,765 respectively as per the latest data from the year 2022,” an official said. He added that kidney transplants have gone up from 4,037 (3,495 living donor transplants and 542 deceased donor transplants) to 11,423 (9,834 living donor transplants and 1589 deceased donor transplants). Similarly, liver transplants have gone up from 898 (658 living donor transplants and 240 deceased donor transplants) to 3,718 (2957 living donor transplants and 761 deceased donor transplants).



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