{"id":51341,"date":"2025-08-14T15:49:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T10:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=51341"},"modified":"2025-08-14T17:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T12:12:07","slug":"addressing-gender-disparity-organ-transplantation-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/14-08-2025\/addressing-gender-disparity-organ-transplantation-india","title":{"rendered":"Addressing Gender Disparity in Organ Transplantation in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: Issue Related To Health<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the <strong>National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO)<\/strong> has issued an advisory that<strong> prioritizes women patients<\/strong> and relatives of deceased donors in organ transplant allocations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Organ Transplant in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India performed over 18,900 organ transplants in 2024, <strong>ranking third globally<\/strong> in total organ transplants, <strong>behind only the United States and China.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Earlier in 2013, fewer than 5,000 transplants were performed in India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal and Institutional Framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s transplantation system is governed by the <strong>Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994 (amended in 2011),<\/strong> which:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Legalizes brain-stem death for deceased donation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prohibits commercial organ trade;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regulates living and deceased donations;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Requires authorization for unrelated donors;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO)<\/strong>: It coordinates organ allocation, maintains a national registry, and promotes awareness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Organ Transplant Programme (NOTP):<\/strong> It establishes the State and Regional Organ Transplant Organisations (SOTTOs and ROTTOs).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Financial support is provided for infrastructure, training, and immunosuppressant drugs for BPL patients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Transplantation of Human Organs Rules, 1995:<\/strong> It defines procedures for donor consent, hospital registration, and composition of <strong>Authorization Committees.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Gender Gap in Transplantation: <\/strong>A British Medical Journal analysis found that between 2018\u20132023, women accounted for <strong>36,038<\/strong> of <strong>56,509<\/strong> living organ donations but were recipients in only <strong>17,041<\/strong> cases.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Decadal data from <strong>NOTTO (2013\u20132023)<\/strong> revealed that the <strong>living Donor Transplants (2023):<\/strong> Women made up <strong>63%<\/strong> of all living donors. However, women comprised only about:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>24% of heart transplant recipients;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>47% of lung recipients;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>37% of kidney recipients;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>30% of liver recipients;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>26% of pancreas recipients.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implementation Challenges:<\/strong> Current organ allocation protocols prioritize recipients solely based on medical urgency, with no provision for gender-based priority.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unclear definition of \u2018near relatives\u2019 and whether families of cadaveric donors since 1995 are eligible.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Concerns over possible out-of-turn allotments amid ongoing organ trafficking cases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Demand-Supply Gap: <\/strong>Over 100,000 patients need kidney transplants annually, but only around 13,000 are performed.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Deceased donor rates remain low due to cultural hesitations and lack of awareness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Other Concerns:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Infrastructure Deficiencies: <\/strong>Many government hospitals lack transplant ICUs, operation theatres, and HLA labs. ICU bed shortages hinder brain-dead donor maintenance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Human Resource Shortage:<\/strong> Scarcity of trained transplant surgeons, nephrologists, and coordinators. Frequent transfers disrupt continuity in transplant programs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Barriers: <\/strong>High cost of lifelong immunosuppressants. Limited post-transplant support beyond the first year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Data and Monitoring Gaps: <\/strong>Inconsistent reporting from hospitals. Lack of centralized tracking for donor-recipient outcomes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical and Legal Concerns:<\/strong> Instances of organ trafficking and commercial transplants still surface; Inconsistent interpretation of laws across states; Weak enforcement of penalties for violations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tamil Nadu: A Model State<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tamil Nadu\u2019s Cadaver Transplant Programme (CTP)<\/strong>, now evolved into <strong>TRANSTAN<\/strong>, is a national benchmark. It was the<strong> first state to:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Issue detailed brain death certification guidelines;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Build equity into organ allocation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Establish a swap transplant registry and promote machine perfusion for organ preservation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward: Balancing Inclusion and Fairness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The core challenge lies in ensuring inclusivity without undermining medical fairness. Implementation needs to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Be participatory, involving all agencies under the <strong>Transplantation of Human Organs Act<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintain <strong>medical need as the primary criterion<\/strong> for allocation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Safeguard against exploitation while widening access for women and donor families.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q]<\/strong> Critically examine the gender disparity in organ transplantation in India. Discuss the steps&nbsp; to address issues of justice and equality, and related challenges .<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/editorial\/justice-and-equality-on-organ-transplantation-gender-skew\/article69924723.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><strong>Further Reading: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-08-2025\/15th-indian-organ-donation-day-ceremony\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/05-08-2025\/15th-indian-organ-donation-day-ceremony\">15th Indian Organ Donation Day Ceremony<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/UPSC-Editorial-Analysis-14-August-2025.PDF.pdf\">Download PDF<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) has issued an advisory that prioritizes women patients and relatives of deceased donors in organ transplant allocations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":51397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/addressing-gender-disparity-organ-transplantation-india.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51341"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51398,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51341\/revisions\/51398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}