Health ministry asks states to ensure hospitals share organ transplant data regularly

Many registered transplant hospitals have persistently failed to submit daily and monthly data, thereby impeding the transparency and facilitation of equitable organ allocation, the Health Ministry’s letter pointed out.

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has written to states expressing "serious concern" over hospitals not sharing data on organ transplantations and registering them on the National Transplant Registry.

Many registered transplant hospitals have persistently failed to submit daily and monthly data, thereby impeding the transparency and facilitation of equitable organ allocation, the letter pointed out.

The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), under the Directorate General of Health Services, Union Health Ministry is entrusted with the statutory responsibility of establishing and maintaining a National Transplant Registry pursuant to Section 13D of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994.

This registry is essential for monitoring organ and tissue transplantations to ensure transparency, facilitate equitable organ allocation, and support policy-making, the letter said.

"It is a matter of serious concern that many registered transplant hospitals have persistently failed to submit the daily and monthly data on organ transplantation activities and register transplantations on the National Transplant Registry. Such non-compliance undermines NOTTO's ability to fulfil its obligations and impedes the objective of augmenting organ donation rates nationwide," the letter said.

It referred to previous letters highlighting the need for comprehensive data sharing.

As per provisions of the THOTA Act, 1994, all registered hospitals are required to maintain records of transplantation activities and report them to NOTTO through the respective State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisations (SOTTO), the letter stressed.

The letter requested the states to direct hospitals or transplant centres to furnish comprehensive data.

"Data related to deceased as well as living donors and recipients must be compiled, verified and submitted to NOTTO through the respective SOTTO and ROTTO on a monthly basis," the letter underlined.

It stressed that it is mandatory to update data on NOTTO web portal regularly and register both donors and recipients of living transplants in the National Transplant Registry within 48 hours of the procedure.

It requested the State Appropriate Authority (SAA), which has the powers of a civil court under the Act, to ensure compliance by hospitals, and deal with non-compliance as per the THOTA Act, 1994.