61,668 await kidney transplants; panel urges expansion of facilities

NEW DELHI: India is facing a widening gap between the demand for kidney transplants and the availability of donor organs, with 61,668 patients on the waiting list as of February 9 — nearly five times the number of transplants performed in 2024, according to a parliamentary standing committee.

The committee on health and family welfare, in its report tabled during the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament, recommended that kidney transplant facilities be expanded to at least three government medical colleges in large states and one in every small state and Union Territory. It also called for time-bound targets to increase organ retrieval centres and transplant infrastructure, particularly in underserved and hilly regions.

India performed 11,558 living-donor and 1,918 deceased-donor kidney transplants in 2024. The committee said these figures highlight the widening mismatch between demand and capacity, and the continued dependence on living donors.

According to the report, transplant activity remains concentrated in a handful of states and metropolitan centres, including Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. This leaves access uneven across the country, with many patients in rural and remote areas having little or no access to transplant services.

The committee attributed the shortage partly to India's low deceased-organ donation rates. It cited social misconceptions, inadequate awareness, limited organ retrieval infrastructure and procedural bottlenecks as key factors. To address this, it has called for a nationwide behavioural-change campaign and stronger hospital-based organ retrieval and transplant coordination systems.

Data from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation for 2019-23 showed that women constituted 63.8% of living organ donors, while men accounted for 69.8% of transplant recipients. The committee has sought a study to determine whether socioeconomic, cultural, financial or gender-related barriers contribute to this disparity.

Health experts have long pointed out that India's deceased organ donation rate is among the lowest in the world, at under one donor per million population. In contrast, countries like Spain and the United States have rates several times higher. The committee's recommendations are aimed at bridging this gap by strengthening the institutional framework for organ donation and transplantation.

The report also stressed the need for better data collection and monitoring to ensure equitable access. It suggested that states with higher transplant volumes should mentor and support those with lower capacity, and that telemedicine could play a role in pre- and post-transplant care for patients in remote areas.

The parliamentary panel's findings come amid growing concern over the rising burden of kidney disease in India. According to the Indian Society of Nephrology, approximately 1.8 lakh new patients develop end-stage kidney disease each year, but only a fraction receive transplants. The rest depend on long-term dialysis, which is costly and often inaccessible.

The committee's report is expected to be discussed in the next session of Parliament, and the government may be asked to submit an action plan. Until then, the thousands of patients on the waiting list remain in a precarious state, with many losing their lives while waiting for a donor.