The Indian Human Organ Transplant Act-1994

The Act has laid down certain rules and regulations to be followed for human organ transplant. These are made to prevent any possible misuse of the organ transplant procedure.

The transplantation of an organ from one body to another is known as the organ transplant. The demand for organs from patients with organ failures is increasing day by day. There acute shortage of organs made available by willing donors. Rich patients, somehow mange to buy the organs illegally from the grey market (ex, the infamous kidney bazaar). There are other legal sources such as organ retrieval centers where organs from brain-dead patients and cadaver donors are retrieved and sent to the organ transplant hospitals. The number of organ transplantation cases is very meager as compared to the demand. Very urgent action is required by the government and NGOs to improve the situation.

1. Bring-in awareness amongst the public to promote organ donation.
2. Cut down Red-Tape by providing early clearances like NOCs from the authorities such as police (in case of accident victims) for organ retrieval.
3. Set up more numbers of Organ Retrieval Centers in strategic locations to facilitate timely retrieval of organs.
4. Train/Qualify more number of doctors to increase the availability of the doctors for organ retrieval operations.
5. Once organ is made available, the decision/permission by appropriate Hospital Committees should be given quickly on application for transplantation.

Organ transplantation is a boon to the patients who would have died otherwise due to failure of their organs such as eyes, kidney, liver and pancreas. Stop illegal trafficking of organs and streamline the organ transplant system in India so that more and more members of the public will register themselves as organ donors.