Supreme Court Seeks Report On States/UTs' Implementation Of Organ Transplant Act; Enquires Steps Taken To Remove Gender Disparity In Transplants

In a public interest litigation pertaining to organ transplants, the Supreme Court has asked the Union to convene a meeting of Chief Secretaries and Secretaries, Public Health of all States/Union Territories to seek data and submit a report.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih passed the order, asking the Union to collect information from the states/UTs on the following aspects:

(i) Which States have adopted the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994? If not, what is the reason for non-adoption?

(ii) Which States have adopted the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Act, 2011 along with the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014? If not, what is the reason for non-adoption?

(iii) Have all the States adopted and implemented all the policies/guidelines framed by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) to facilitate organ transplant? If not, why?

(iv) What is the percentage of transplant from a cadaver vis a vis live donor?

(v) The report by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of female live donors are way higher than male but male donor recipients are more than female. What is the percentage of female donor vis a vis male donor in the State? Similarly, what is the percentage of female recipient vis a vis male recipient? What are the steps taken by the State to remove gender disparity in access to organ transplants?

(vi) Are the relatives of a brain dead patient being informed about the organ donation?

(vii) Do all States have policies for 'swap transplantation'? If yes, then is the policy aligned with the 1994 Act? If not, what are the reasons therefor?

(viii) What is the process followed by the States to allocate an organ to the recipient? Is the same in line with the point system framed by the NOTTO? Are there deviations from the points system framed by the NOTTO? If yes, then why?

(ix) How many government and private hospitals are available in every State which are equipped with organ transplant machinery, doctors and adequate infrastructure? What is the present requirement in the State?

(x) How many government hospitals are there in the State which are equipped to perform multi-organ transplants including liver, kidney, heart, lungs, pancreas etc.?

(xi) What steps have been taken by the States to increase awareness about organ transplantation among people?

(xii) Is the State government providing any financial assistance to the donor or the recipient?

(xiii) Is there any National Level Portal where the information of donors and recipients are updated on regular basis to facilitate organ transplant?

The report is to be submitted by the Union by 18.07.2025.

Appearance: Senior Advocate K Parmeswar; ASG Archana Pathak Dave

Case Title: INDIAN SOCIETY OF ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 39/2025

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