Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya: Structural Reforms Likely To Happen Soon In Organ Donation And Transplant Sector
On Wednesday, May 3, 2023, union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said they are planning to reform the organ donation and organ transplant sector in the country. This statement came when the health minister reviewed the status of organ donation and transplants with other officers of the health ministry.
According to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of organ transplants in the country has substantially increased from 2013 to 2022. In 2013, it was less than 5000 and in 2022, it was more than 15,000. In 2016, a total of 2,265 donated organs were utilized from 930 deceased, and 2,765 donated organs were utilized in 2022. This is the result of the better coordination between networks of organ and tissue transplant organizations such as; NOTTO, ROTTO, and SOTTO.
NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization) is working on transplantation programs in hospitals and also on standard courses for training Transplant Coordinators. The health ministry said in a statement that it will complete the documentation soon and will release it shortly. Much of the work has already been completed such as; for better implantation of the program 4 verticals, IEC, training, and HR accounts have already been created.
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The government of India took some initiatives to encourage the donors. For example, those central government employees who donate an organ will be granted 42 days of special casual leaves. This step was taken as a special welfare measure in the public interest. Also, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is imbibing learning from international best practices to further strengthen the policy reform system.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
This is an Indian government ministry responsible for health policy and management of the health sector in India. The Ministry is also responsible for programs associated with family planning in India. Initially, this Ministry was composed of two separate departments; the Department of Health Research and the Department of Health and family welfare. But in 2014, the Department of AIDS Control separated from the Department of health research and merged with the Department of Health and family welfare.
Department of Health deals with the healthcare system of India, which includes immunization, awareness campaign, preventive medicine, and public health. The Department of Family Welfare is responsible for aspects like reproductive health, pediatrics, maternal health, education and communication, rural health services, etc.
In 2007, the Department of Health Research was created. This Department is responsible for several health-related research work including child care and affordable innovative technologies for health. The government has also launched several programs to support these research works.
The government has launched several schemes under National Health Mission to strengthen the healthcare system of the country. This mission includes two submissions; National Rural Health Mission and National Urban Health Mission. As the name suggests the former focuses on strengthening the healthcare system in the rural part of the country, whereas the latter focuses on urban areas. The National Health Mission focuses on easy access to equitable, affordable, and quality healthcare services.
