Bhubaneswar: Odisha Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling informed the State Assembly on Monday that 42 cadaveric kidney transplants and six cadaveric liver transplants have been conducted in the state so far.
However, the Minister did not specify the time period during which these transplants were performed.
In a written statement, Mahaling revealed that one heart, two lungs, and six livers were transported from Odisha to other states for transplantation. He emphasized that brain death declarations are being carried out in accordance with the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014.
The Minister also shared that nine government and private hospitals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar have been authorized to declare brain stem death in patients.
To honour the sacrifice and courage of organ donors, the Odisha government announced in February 2022 that the last rites of organ donors would be performed with state honors. Additionally, the state established the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) in 2019 to streamline the organ donation process.
In 2020, the government introduced the Suraj Award to encourage organ donation. Families of organ donors receive a cash award of ₹5 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) and are felicitated annually on World Organ Donation Day (August 13).
