In India the burden of end organ disease is steadily on the rise. Transplantation of Liver, kidney, heart, Lungs, pancreas and intestines has become the standard of care for the treatment of the respective organ failures. The surgical procedure and post-surgery care has been standardized to a great extent and organ transplantation has success rates of 90-95% across all organ types. However, inspite of the good outcomes, transplantation is done in less than 5% of all patients who need it, the biggest hurdle being availability of suitable organs for transplantation.

Organs for transplantation have to come from humans and presently, the majority of transplantation in our country are being done using live donor organs (from people who are alive). One of the kidneys and a part of the liver can be donated by a healthy person. Live donation, in addition to putting the donor at risk of complications (however small the risk may be), also makes transplantation of heart, lung and pancreas impossible as these organs cannot be donated by living persons. Donation after death is the only effective solution to this problem as it can provide all organs for transplantation in addition to safeguarding concerns about live donor safety.

Organ Requirement in India

• Every year 500,000 people die because of non-availability of organs
• 200,000 people die of liver disease
  50,000 people die from heart disease
• 150,000 people await a kidney transplant but only 5,000 get one
• 1,000,000 lakh people suffer from corneal blindness and await transplant
• Nationally, with a population of 1.2 billion people, the statistic stands at 0.08 persons as organ donors per million population (PMP)

The Number of Donors

• While 36 persons per million of population donated organs in Spain in 2014, 35 donated in Croatia, 27.02 donated in the United States, and only 0.34 donated in

Each person can save up to 7 lives by donating their organs

Types of Organ Donation	Live Donation	Donation after brain Death (DBD or Heart beating Donors)	Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD or Non Heart Beating Donors)
Donor status	Alive	Dead	Dead
Organs commonly donated	Part of Liver, One Kidney	Liver, both kidneys, pancreas, Intestines, Heart, Lungs	Liver, both kidneys
Risk to Donor (mortality)	1 in 500 for liver donation 1 in 650 for kidney donation	None	None
Tissue donation	Usually not done	Corneas (eye), Heart valves, skin, bones,  vascularized composite tissues (i.e., hands, face)	Corneas (eye), Heart valves, skin, bones,
Legal Aspects	Governed by THOA (Transplantation of Human Organs Act)	Governed by THOA	No clear guidelines presently

Organ Donation Awareness

Presently, about 600 organ donations happen every year in our country, which is a significant progress from the rare 1-2 per year about half a decade ago.  This has been possible due to the facilitatory role of the government bodies and sustained effort from NGOs and medical community. Any concerns about the organs being distributed preferentially or unjustifiably has been addressed and all cadaveric organ donations and organ distributions are done directly by government bodies (NNOS in Tamil Nadu, Jeevandan in Telangana and AP, ZTCC in Maharashtra, ZCCK in Karnataka etc.) National and Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO and ROTTO) have been structured to facilitate organ sharing between different states so that donated organs are not wasted and made available to patients who desperately need them.

Organ Donation a life changing trend

• There is a huge discrepancy between the number of organs available for transplantation and the people who need them as life-saving procedures.
• The need of the hour is to educate the people about organ donation and the tremendous difference it can make to the life of patients with organ failure.
• Transplant recipients, who are incapacitated, totally dependent, and a financial burden to their families, go back to their normal life and become the breadwinners for their families.
• Women have successfully borne children after transplantation.
• Children who underwent transplant have returned to their normal school and play as the twinkle and gleam of dreams and immense possibilities return back to them

Organ donation is a GIFT of LIFE, not only for the patient who receives is but also his/her near and dear.

Apollo Hospitals Transplant Institutes (ATI)

The Apollo Transplant Institutes (ATI) is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive solid transplant programs. ATI offers a host of state of the art services which include Peritoneal and Hemo-Dialysis, Management of Liver Disease, Management of Kidney Disease, Liver and Kidney Transplantation, Corneal Transplantation, Heart and Lung Transplants, Intestinal, Pancreas and GI Transplant Surgeries and Pediatric Transplant Services.

In 2016, the Apollo Transplant Institutes conducted over 1,437 transplants thereby making it the busiest program of its kind outside of the United States. The Institutes are located at over 14 locations offering a mix of services that are equipped to take care of the entire spectrum of liver, kidney and gastrointestinal diseases. With 90% success rates, our program is a beacon of quality and hope for patients from across the world.