Government medical colleges and hospitals must register with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation and comply with the Transplantation of Human Organ (Amendment) Act 2011, according to the Supreme Court. The petition suggests that India’s low number of deceased organ donors and road traffic accident deaths could provide transplantable organs.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ordered the Centre to respond to a petition directing government or semi-government medical colleges and district hospitals to register with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation and meet Sections 14 and 14-A of the Transplantation of Human Organ (Amendment) Act 2011.
Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan notified Centre and others to respond.
Varun Thakur represented Gaveshna Maanvotthan Paryavaran Evam Swasthya Jaagrookata Samiti in the petition.
The petitioner wanted government or semi-government medical colleges and District Hospitals to register with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation and meet Sections 14 and 14-A of the Transplantation of Human Organ (Amendment) Act 2011.
The petitioner wanted the Advisory Committees to advise the appropriate authority under Section 13A of the Transplantation of Human Organs (Amendment) Act, 2011 and the respondents to implement the “YK Chawla, Chairman of the Task Force 2022, Report on Organ Donation and Transplantation.
The petition claims 160,000 road traffic accident (RTA) deaths in India, 60% of which are brain injuries.
“CVA, another common BSD cause in India, has a 44.54–150 per 100,000 prevalence rate and an 18.3%–46.3% 30-day case fatality rate. Also deceased donors. The petition requested transferring many organs from these patients.
Less than one per million Indians give organs after death, similar to Japan but far lower than most Western countries. The petition claimed that the US and Spain had the highest rates of dead organ donors per million population in 2020 among OECD countries.
Petition states, “Every act that undermines human dignity reduces life. The legal procedure must be fair, just, and reasonable to protect other fundamental rights…”
Conclusion
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to respond to a petition by Gaveshna Maanvotthan Paryavaran Evam Swasthya Jaagrookata Samiti to register government or semi-government medical colleges and district hospitals with the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation and meet Sections 14 and 14-A requirements of the Transplantation of Human Organ (Amendment) The petition also asks the Advisory Committees to advise the competent authority and implement the Task Force on Organ Donation and Transplantation’s report. India’s low organ donation rate is used to argue that any act that degrades human dignity violates the right to life.
