India’s Organ Donation Rate Remains Below One Per Million: Government Report
The organ donations remain low despite India being the third highest in terms of total organ transplantation.
Published : August 2, 2025 at 6:51 PM IST
By Gautam Debroy
New Delhi: The organ donation rate in India remains low at less than one per million population, even as the number of transplants has increased significantly, government data revealed on Saturday.
“Although the number of transplants in India has significantly increased from 4990 in 2013 to 18378 in 2023, and 18911 transplants have been reported to NOTTO from January to December 2024, the organ donation rate remains low at less than one per million population. This starkly contrasts with the highest in the world, at around 48 per million population in Spain. India is third highest in the world in terms of total organ transplantation and first in terms of total living donor organ transplantation,” said the 2024-25 annual report released by the National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organisation here.
The Government of India is implementing the National Organ Transplant Program (NOTP) to enhance access to life-saving transplants, improve awareness about healthy lifestyles and the prevention of organ failure, raising awareness on the donation of organs and tissues from deceased persons, augmenting infrastructure for transplantation, especially in government institutions, and providing training for manpower and research.
National Organ Transplant Program
As per the mandate given to the Central government under the above-mentioned Act, the National Human Organs and Tissues Removal and Storage Network has been established, which consists of one National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) located at Safdarjung Hospital campus in New Delhi, 5 Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (ROTTO), and 25 State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTO) so far. In the last year four new SOTTOs have been sanctioned for the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Sikkim to give impetus to organ donation and transplantation in the northeastern region.
Status of deceased transplants over the years in India
From 837 in 2013, the deceased transplants in India over the years have registered an increasing trend. With 2935 in 2023, the deceased transplants in India registered 3403 transplants in 2024, with a 16 percent increase.
The state-wise number of deceased donors stated that Tamil Nadu, with 268, topped the list of states, followed by 188 Telangana, 172 Maharashtra, 162 Karnataka, and 119 Gujarat. States like Assam, Goa, and Uttarakhand registered only one deceased donor in 2024.
Delhi NCR (approx. 2500), Tamil Nadu (approx. 1800), Maharashtra (approx. 1500), Kerala (approx. 1200), and West Bengal (approx. 1000) have registered the maximum kidney transplants in 2024.
As far as liver transplants are concerned, according to the data, Delhi NCR, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Telangana remain the top five states, whereas Odisha, Punjab, Assam, Haryana, and Chandigarh were poor performers in liver transplants in 2024.
Tamil Nadu registered 96 heart transplants in 2024, followed by Karnataka with 43 and Gujarat with 33. Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat registered one heart transplantation each in 2024.
As far as lung transplantation is concerned, Tamil Nadu with 89, Telangana with 76, and Karnataka with 23 remain the top three states, whereas West Bengal with 2 and Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan registered one lung transplantation each in 2024.
Only five states and UTs registered pancreas transplants in 2024: Chandigarh (30), Karnataka (6), Madhya Pradesh (3), Tamil Nadu (3), and Gujarat (2).
Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994
Organ donation and transplantation a government-regulated activities in India as per the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 1994 (as amended in 2011). This legislation aims to regulate the removal, storage, and transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes while strictly prohibiting any commercial dealing. The Transplantation of Human Organs Act was enacted in the year 1994, which, after adoption by the states, became applicable to all states and union territories, with exceptions like Jammu & Kashmir and erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, which had their specific legislation.
The Act was amended in 2011, and the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011 came into force on January 10, 2014, in Goa, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Union Territories. Other states that have adopted the amendment act to date are Rajasthan, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana, Manipur, Gujarat, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
The amended act is now named the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994. After the reorganisation of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, the THOTA 1994 is now also applicable in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Two states, namely Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka, have not yet adopted the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act 2011. However, they are in the process of adoption.
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