Media reports on Thursday claimed that the Center is in talks with NGOs and transplant surgeons about the possibilities of opening up organ exchange between unrelated individuals.
Current laws allow living donation mainly from close relatives such as parents, siblings, children, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren.
In case of unrelated or altruistic organ donations from distant relatives, in-laws or long-time friends, additional checks are carried out to prevent financial exchanges.
“Allowing organ exchange between unrelated individuals could significantly expand the donor pool in India, saving countless lives.
“Medically, the primary concern is the risk of organ rejection, as genetic disparity increases this risk.However, advances in immunosuppressive therapy have made transplantation between unrelated donors more feasible and successful,” Dr Sudeep Singh Sachdev, director and senior consultant, nephrology at Narayana Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS.
“This will expand the donor pool and help patients waiting for a transplant. Dr Bishnu Panigrahi, group head, medical strategy and operations at Fortis Healthcare, said India's donation rates are currently much lower than countries with good transplant numbers.
However, experts also stressed the need for strict regulatory controls.
Dr Sudeep told IANS, "While potential benefits include shorter waiting times and better health outcomes for patients, the risks include a higher likelihood of complications and the ethical dilemma of ensuring a truly altruistic donation, free from pressure or financial incentives." Is.,
He also called for "stronger regulatory frameworks and comprehensive pre-transplant assessment".
“We need strict regulatory control, where the authorization committee for such unrelated transplants should not be a hospital authority panel, but an external committee, where at least two government nominees, a reputed lawyer and a social worker Should be. Dr. Bishnu said, all four should be quorum, the authority should be physically present for approval.
However, not all experts believe in the need for altruistic organ donation in India.
Dr Arvinder Soin, chairman and chief surgeon of Medanta Institute of Liver Transplantation, told IANS that while this may lead to a marginal increase in donation rates, it also opens the possibility of exploitation of the poor by the rich.He called for improving deceased donation rates in India, which are currently "a pitiful 0.7 per million compared to 38 per million in the US".
“I believe that for India, unrelated charitable donations are not the answer to improving transplant rates at this stage. Rather, all-out efforts were made to promote deceased donor organ donation through extensive government and NGO-led public campaigns, mandatory declaration of brain death in all ICUs, and urgent requests from families of clinically brain-dead patients. Should go.
The doctor said, “This will provide much better benefits in terms of organ availability and thousands of lives will be saved."
Current laws allow living donation mainly from close relatives such as parents, siblings, children, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren.
In case of unrelated or altruistic organ donations from distant relatives, in-laws or long-time friends, additional checks are carried out to prevent financial exchanges.
“Allowing organ exchange between unrelated individuals could significantly expand the donor pool in India, saving countless lives.
“Medically, the primary concern is the risk of organ rejection, as genetic disparity increases this risk.However, advances in immunosuppressive therapy have made transplantation between unrelated donors more feasible and successful,” Dr Sudeep Singh Sachdev, director and senior consultant, nephrology at Narayana Hospital, Gurugram, told IANS.
“This will expand the donor pool and help patients waiting for a transplant. Dr Bishnu Panigrahi, group head, medical strategy and operations at Fortis Healthcare, said India's donation rates are currently much lower than countries with good transplant numbers.
However, experts also stressed the need for strict regulatory controls.
Dr Sudeep told IANS, "While potential benefits include shorter waiting times and better health outcomes for patients, the risks include a higher likelihood of complications and the ethical dilemma of ensuring a truly altruistic donation, free from pressure or financial incentives." Is.,
He also called for "stronger regulatory frameworks and comprehensive pre-transplant assessment".
“We need strict regulatory control, where the authorization committee for such unrelated transplants should not be a hospital authority panel, but an external committee, where at least two government nominees, a reputed lawyer and a social worker Should be. Dr. Bishnu said, all four should be quorum, the authority should be physically present for approval.
However, not all experts believe in the need for altruistic organ donation in India.
Dr Arvinder Soin, chairman and chief surgeon of Medanta Institute of Liver Transplantation, told IANS that while this may lead to a marginal increase in donation rates, it also opens the possibility of exploitation of the poor by the rich.He called for improving deceased donation rates in India, which are currently "a pitiful 0.7 per million compared to 38 per million in the US".
“I believe that for India, unrelated charitable donations are not the answer to improving transplant rates at this stage. Rather, all-out efforts were made to promote deceased donor organ donation through extensive government and NGO-led public campaigns, mandatory declaration of brain death in all ICUs, and urgent requests from families of clinically brain-dead patients. Should go.
The doctor said, “This will provide much better benefits in terms of organ availability and thousands of lives will be saved."
