Health Ministry Initiatives to Promote Organ Donation

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Smt Anupriya Patel through a written reply in the Lok Sabha informed the parliament about the Health Ministry Initiatives to Promote Organ Donation

The Government of India has taken a series of measures to promote cadaver organ donation. The Government is implementing the National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP) to promote organ donation across the country.

The website of the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), viz. www.notto.nic.in contains information pertinent to the activities relating to organ donation. A 24x7 call centre with a toll free helpline number (1800114770) and a National Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplant Registry have also been set up. Financial assistance is admissible for establishing Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations (ROTTO) and State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organizations (SOTTO) and hiring of transplant coordinators in Hospitals and Trauma Centres.

Further, a number of activities are carried out throughout the year for generating awareness about cadaver organ donation and for imparting training to all those associated with transplant activities including doctors and transplant coordinators. Activities such as celebration of Indian organ donation day every year, seminars, workshops, debates, sports events, walkathons, participation in marathons, display boards outside ICUs and other strategic locations at the transplant/retrieval hospitals, nukkad natak, etc., are also organized at different places in the country to disseminate information and increase awareness. Audio-visual messages to promote cadaver organ donation are also telecast on Doordarshan and other Television channels. Rs. 3.00 crore was allocated for Advertising and Publicity in the financial year 2016-17.