Telangana adopts central Act, strict rules kick in for organ donation | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: The state assembly Thursday adopted the central govt’s Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act (THOTA), that will better facilitate and regulate organ donations and transplants.
Health minister Damodar Rajanarasimha said Telangana would be linked to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) and the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), based in Chennai. “Through this linking, it will be possible for people of Telangana to benefit in getting organs for transplantation,” he said.
The state was following the Telangana Transplantation of Human Organs Act so far, but with the new Act, many changes would kick in. The minister said apart from the heart, kidney, and liver, it would now be possible to facilitate the transplantation of bone marrow, heart valves and tissues.
For organ donation, grandparents would be able to donate organs to grandchildren and vice versa. Rajanarasimha said in certain cases of genetic disorders, the children might need a liver transplant, and with the new rules, grandparents could donate (a portion of) the liver.
Also, punishment norms would be more stringent if there were any malpractices in organ donation. The guilty would face a penalty of Rs 1 crore with jail terms of up to 10 years.
Earlier, only neurosurgeons and neurophysicians could declare a person brain-dead. As per the new regulations, a physician, a surgeon, a intensivist, and an anaesthetist could also declare a person brain-dead so that organs could be harvested without delay.
Telangana’s ‘Jeevan Daan’, which facilitates organ donations, would be linked with the Centre’s NOTTO and regional ROTTO. The minister said storage centres would be set up in the state for the preservation of organs.
The health minister said adopting the central Act would help boost medical tourism in the state. He also said after a discussion with chief minister A Revanth Reddy, it was proposed to provide assistance in some form to organ donors.
Health minister Damodar Rajanarasimha said Telangana would be linked to the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) and the Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (ROTTO), based in Chennai. “Through this linking, it will be possible for people of Telangana to benefit in getting organs for transplantation,” he said.
The state was following the Telangana Transplantation of Human Organs Act so far, but with the new Act, many changes would kick in. The minister said apart from the heart, kidney, and liver, it would now be possible to facilitate the transplantation of bone marrow, heart valves and tissues.
For organ donation, grandparents would be able to donate organs to grandchildren and vice versa. Rajanarasimha said in certain cases of genetic disorders, the children might need a liver transplant, and with the new rules, grandparents could donate (a portion of) the liver.
Also, punishment norms would be more stringent if there were any malpractices in organ donation. The guilty would face a penalty of Rs 1 crore with jail terms of up to 10 years.
Earlier, only neurosurgeons and neurophysicians could declare a person brain-dead. As per the new regulations, a physician, a surgeon, a intensivist, and an anaesthetist could also declare a person brain-dead so that organs could be harvested without delay.
Telangana’s ‘Jeevan Daan’, which facilitates organ donations, would be linked with the Centre’s NOTTO and regional ROTTO. The minister said storage centres would be set up in the state for the preservation of organs.
The health minister said adopting the central Act would help boost medical tourism in the state. He also said after a discussion with chief minister A Revanth Reddy, it was proposed to provide assistance in some form to organ donors.
