According to the Union Health Ministry’s directive, all cases of organ transplants, whether from a living or deceased donor, will be allocated a unique National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO)-ID for both the donor and the recipient.
Key points
- NOTTO-ID must be generated by the hospital from the NOTTO website.
- The initiative aims to eliminate commercial dealing in organs, especially those involving foreign citizens.
- The order has been issued to all States and Union Territories. The govt order comes following reports of malpractice and a surge in the number of organ transplants related to foreigners in the country.
- NOTTO-ID is mandatory for considering allocation of organs in case of deceased donor transplant.
- This ID in case of a living donor transplant, shall also be generated at the earliest, maximum within 48 hours after the transplant surgery is done.
- According to the provisions of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994, in the case of a foreign national, prior approval of the authorisation committee is required before removing or transplanting organ or tissue or both.
