Question : Delay in Transportation of Human Organs

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken note of the delay in transportation of human organs rendering it wasted and useless to save precious lives;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to take up/have taken up the issue with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to take its help and ensure that all organs are transported by air free of cost by public and private sector airlines in order to achieve the real objective of organ donation and implantation of such organs; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) and (b) As per information received from National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO)/Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation(ROTTO), there have been only a few incidents of organ wastage due to delay/non-availability of transportation.
However, as per Rule 31(4) (e) of Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, the sequence of allocation of organs shall be in the following order: State list-Regional list-National list-person of Indian Origin-Foreigner. Further, National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP), being implemented by Government of India, provides for financial assistance for setting up of new organ transplant/retrieval facilities or upgrading the existing ones, in the States/Union Territories (UTs). The programme thus aims for augmenting the infrastructure for organ transplantation to facilitate local utilization of organs within the State, as
far as possible as per priority in the aforesaid Rule and to minimize the need for transportation beyond the State.

(c) and (d) There is no such proposal under consideration for transportation of all organs free of cost by public and private sector airlines.
As per Rule 9 of Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014, the cost of transportation of organs may be borne by the recipient or institution or Government or non-Government organization or society as decided by the respective State Government or Union Territory Administration.
Further, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Ministry of Civil Aviation has laid down procedure for speedy transportation of human organs in consonance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines.