Chennai, Nov 15: With a view to popularise and create awareness on the concept of organ donation, the Government of India will soon come out with a National Organ
Transplant Programme, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said on Saturday.
Speaking at a function organised to felicitate the relatives of dead persons whose organs were donated by them, Ramadoss said around Rs 1200-1400 crore would be spent on this programme.
"It is expected to come into effect in another six months and we will be tabling a bill in this regard in the next Parliament session," he said.
Accordingly, National, Regional and Zonal committees would be formed which would create awareness with the help of government funding to the tune of a maximum of Rs 25 crore, the minister said.
A national online register would be formed for this purpose, he said adding that this would make the donation and transplant more transparent.
"Our aim is to avoid any theft or misuse of donated organs," he said.
Compared to countries like Spain and Canada, organ transplantation rate as well as awareness is very low in India, he said.
According to the planned initiative, hospitals would be required to notify a nodal authority about "braindead" persons being admitted to the ICU, which in turn would "facilitate organ donation".
"We may see sweeping changes in the mindset of people in the next three to five years on organ donation," Ramadoss said.
Bureau Report
